Shadows
by A-ccentric
Summary: "He's coming for you." What happens when a mysterious figure gives Lucy a foreboding warning? Something dark lurks in her past, and it's time for it's return. What hides in the shadow of Lucy's past? -NaLu- Updates: Monday
1. The Return of the Past

Shadows

Chapter 1: The Return of the Past

_'You cannot run from a shadow, you cannot hide from shadow. To be free from a shadow, you must first, delve into the dark.'_

"Natsu?" Lucy asked. Natsu's nose perked high in the air as team Natsu traipsed through the damp forest. Being in a rain forest wasn't the highlight of Lucy's day. Nor the fact that Natsu had probably gave her dead legs for eternity. Once again the dragon slayer had fallen asleep on her lap.

For some reason, it had become a frequent occurance. Whenever they went on the train he would flop onto her lap. But the most irritation part of it was that he refused to budge. Natsu's head had clamped down on her lap. After several house of riding the train, Natsu had official destroyed Lucy's ability to walk. The stubborn dragon slayer had cut off her circulation to her legs and pins and needles prickled and tingled through her thighs, down to her calves. It was practically impossible for Lucy to walk two steps without dropping onto the floor. The warm sensation of blood flowing through her legs again soothed her, but the sharp knives stabbing her muscles dampened the feeling. In the end, Natsu -_forcefully-_ carried Lucy as a gesture of apology.

He couldn't help it. It had become natural instinct to seek out Lucy's comfortable lap when in his most vulnerable moments. She was comfy. Also the side effects of his travel sickness seemed far from important on her lap. Lucy, in a strange way, was Natsus painkiller.

"Natsu~?" Lucy moaned again. Lucy's soft arms wrapped gently around his neck. Strong arms held her legs around his waist. Her head resting on his shoulder with exhaustion. Long gold hair spilled down over his shoulder, grazing his damp skin. Through the whole trek in the woods, Natsu had carried the stellar mage on his back. Lucy was tired and so was most of the rest. Except, predictable Natsu, was not. Full of energy, he often forgot he was holding the celestial wizard and sprinted at full speed over the damp, moss covered, forest floor, launching over trees and swinging on vines. Lucy got irritated. But no matter how much she protested the dragon slayer would _NOT_ put her down. All poor Lucy could do was cling on for dear life.

"I smell something..." Natsu's face scrunched up, grimacing at the scent.

"Does Lucy smell that bad?" Happy giggled, stifling a laugh. A sharp death glare shot his way, shutting up the cat instantly. Lucy was already in a bad mood, annoying her any further would be like signing your death wish. Slowly, Natsu's body dipped down. One arm let go of one of Lucy's legs, letting it softly touch the spongy floor. Soon after, it was followed by the other leg. Gently, Lucy removed her arms from his neck. Natsu's mind was preoccupied with the smell. Lucy watched his strained glance with anxiety and nervousness slowly creeping up inside her from the tension. Then again, it did every time before the big impact on a mission. Normally, all her friends would take charge and control the situation, including her and her spirits, of course. However, Natsu was being uncharacteristically cautious. Once again, it disturb the blond mage. The dragon slayer slowly began to creep through the woods. Soon followed by the stellar mage and the rest of Team Natsu, they all lurked slowly over large tree roots and under low hanging branches.

It continued like so for about 5 minutes before Natsu suddenly ducked behind a waist high bush, dragging Lucy along with him. Everyone else crept up, keeping their head low behind the shrub top. Peering over the bush slightly the team managed to catch sight of what Natsu had hid from; It was the hideout.

Team Natsu had taken up a job looking for a gang leader. Apparently he had been caught attempting to kidnap an aristocrat's son. The handsome and looks-to-young-to-be-a-dad family head employed them, offering them a wealthy yield. Fueled by her greed, Lucy instantly accepted the job without hearing more about it. And so, Team Natsu had been clambering through this wet, soggy jungle for the hideout that was supposedly within these woods. Apparently, it was. Well at least that was what Lucy was hoping. She had spent too much time inside the jungle. It was humid. She was tired. And she looked down right exhausted. Overall, Lucy was irritable.

A loud roar came from inside the small wooden cabin in the center of the clearing. It wasn't big enough to be classed as a cabin really. It was more like a large shed. Nevertheless, the noise sprung the strongest team in fairy tail into action. Firstly, Natsu leapt forward with Happy on his tail. Followed by Gray. Then Erza. And Finally, Wendy and Carla. Lucy waited a small while as she watched her team dart in front of her before slowly picking herself up, dusting off her damp camouflage pants. Her brown tank, matching her army-style outfit. The camouflage jacket was also readjusted. One deep sigh later, she too join in, following after the team. She decided to take her time as she took a gentle stroll. She really had no reason to jump into the fight. Her head felt heavy from the humid air and her body felt slackened.

From such a small hut, Lucy was outstanded to see how many men poured out of there; It was like a clown car. Dozens upon dozens came shooting out, charging at the invaders. Some were mages, others mere lackies.

Lucy needed to get her gears together. After a sharp scolding to herself for being lazy, energy surged up inside her. Leaping forward, she ran to join the fight.

All her team mates had their hands full. Lucy knocked a couple out with her whip as she faces a few stray opponents. Fights were engaged all around her. Natsu, Gray and Erza faced at least two dozen men each and about another dozen surrounded Wendy and Carla. The celestial mage did her famous _'Lucy kick'_ as her foot sprung forward, catching one man unexpectedly in the neck. He never even saw her coming.

A loud yelp echoed through the fighting grounds. For a brief moment everyone stopped. It was soon over, but everyone still felt distracted by it origins.

"What the hell was that?" Gray exclaimed, sending a right hook into a man who managed to get too close to the ice mage.

"It sounded like someone screaming!" Wendy exclaimed in dismay. Lucy glanced at her occupied friends. She too was worried by the horrendous screaming echoing from the wooden make-shift house. Lucy felt a indescribable urge pushing her towards the shed.

"I'll go check it out!" Lucy called, jogging towards the door.

"Wait, Lucy. It's dangerous; You don't know what in there!" Gray called warning to the continuing celestial mage.

"Don't worry I can handle it!" She waved, running out of sight.

"Natsu-" Erza called to the pink haired mage.

"I know; I'm on it." Natsu cut her off, sending a flaming fist and almost knocking out all his opponents. A few remained. He would quickly deal with them and follow after her.

Lucy pressed her back to the front of the shed, peering her head around the corner of the door. Muffled sounds of fighting drew on in the background as Lucy pulled her attention towards the room in front of her. After making sure no one else was coming, she crawled carefully through the doorway. With a barren room of only about 50 square foot in size, it was impossible for all those men to fit in there. The only possibility was that there was something else here.

Lucy scanned the plain, grey-painted room. Luckily, she had an eye for detail. A faint crack of a 5 by 5 meter square ran along the floor boards. Lucy crouched down, running her fingers gently over the edges. Inch by inch, she applied a little pressure. If she felt resistance to her push, she moved on.

Finally, she felt lenience from her pressure. With a little more of a push, the square squashed down. A hissing sound was made as it popped back up, opening just enough for gas to spill from the hole. Lucy slipped her fingers between the opening, widing it for herself. A ladder dropped down into a white room, with metal grating floors.

Lucy's boots rang against the metal grating each time she put her foot down. It seemed her attempt of silence stalking had nullified. Following the oddly long hallway, she moved deeper into the underground crevice. Until, finally, she found a door. One single door sat at the end. As soon as another screech rang from the door, it confirmed it was the place she was looking for. Lucy grimaced at the screaming. She hoped whomever was in there was okay, yet she found herself hesitant to go in. Maybe she should wait for Natsu or Erza to come down... But no, they were preoccupied defeating the enemy and getting down to her would take a bit of time. Not to mention the trap door closed after she entered, it would take too much time. And it wasn't like she could go back for them either, since the trap door only opened on the outside. The guards in the shed must have let the soldiers out.

Lucy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Courage began to swell inside of her. Opening her eyes once more, she glared at the door, pulling her whip into her hands. In a single flowing movement, she clasped the cold, metal hand swinging the door open so hard it bounced back off the wall as she slipped inside. A man with long silver hair held a wooden bat in his hand, turned towards a man tied to a metal chair. Blood, bruised and barely conscious, hope fluttered in his eyes as he caught the stellar mages face. "You." Lucy snapped. "Stop this." Slowly, the man turned around to see the celestial spirit wizard clasping her whip tightly in a threatening demenear. A flash of fear flickered in his hard silver eyes.

Two men, who Lucy hadn't noticed, launched towards her. They were stood on either side of the doorway. If Lucy's grand entrance didn't make her noticed, nothing else would have done. Lucy's mind faltered. She didn't know which one to turn to first. Struggling under her confusion, a harsh snap saved her dilemma. "Stop. Don't touch her." It snapped.

Lucy was taken a back. When she looked at where she though the voice came from, she only came to look at the old, veteran man holding the bat. Wrinkles, blemishes and worn eyes watched her frightfully. "Don't lay a single finger on her." Even with his fearful gaze, a smile crooked on his lips. The two men backed away, closer to the old man.

"What is it, sir?" They asked, confusion trailing their tone. To be honest it was kind of ironic how Lucy's outfit suited them more than it suited her. The big burley men all dressed in black were probably ex-soldiers. Lucy watched them cautiously. But most of all, her curiosity shook as it was dragged towards the silver-haired fox glaring at her.

"Its little Lucy Heartfilia ." He chuckled.

"What?" Lucy growled, unsure to why he knew who she was.

"Don't you remember me, Lucy?" The man smiled lifting his hand to his face. Lucy glared at him silently.

"Luce!" A voice yelled in the distance. It was close by, but faded as Lucy watched the man run a finger through his soft, grey bangs. "Luce!" The voice drifted further out. As the bangs moved with the brush of his hand, a long thin scar ran down the side of his face, glistening under the harsh light. A loud pound crashed inside Lucy's chest and then it stopped. Her stomach turned to iron, weighing down inside her stomach. Her breathes felt long and deep as her eyes widened, staring into the abyss. A darkness swirled around Lucy as her consciousness sunk. A lump formed in her throat, causing her breath to falter. The celestial wizard's legs trembled beneath her body. They gave way letting the stellar mage fall to her knees.

"So you _do_ remember." His voice proudly announced in an absent mutter.

"LUCY!" A voice yelled as the man picked up his bat and swung at the figure entering the doorway. Easily, the dragon slayer caught it in his fist, burning it to ashes. A few moments later they were easily knocked out. Natsu turned to look at Lucy with a soft smile. As he saw his best friend, the smile disappeared. "Luce?" he asked gently, dropping to his knees in front of her. "Luce." he called again, waving his hand in front of her face.

Suddenly, life appeared in her eyes again as she focused on the pink-haired dragon slayer. "Natsu?" she muttered hoarsely with her dry throat.

"You okay?" Natsu asked considerately. Regathering her wits, she recomposed herself. A small reassuring smile lit her lips as she stood up again to find her knees slightly weak.

"Yeah I'm fine." She reassured the dragon slayer. Natsu returned her smile, relieved at her recovery. That state of his friend was beginning to scare him. He'd never seen her look so..._lost_.

"Good!" Natsu laughed, also standing up.

The thundering thumping of footsteps crashing down the long hallway echoed into the chamber. Team Natsu finally caught up. Huffing and puffing, they leaned in a big clump against the doorway. "Good; you guys are okay." Erza gave a relieved sigh. Lucy turned and laughed at the exhausted mages behind her. Natsu stood closely next to her, acting as a buffer between her and the man on the floor. With a small nod towards the men, Gray moved passed everyone towards them. Lucy smiled and talked to Erza about the trap door.

Gray heaved the grey-haired man to his knee's, forming iced cuffs around his wrists. "Lucy..." he mumbled. A single eye open, looking up at the blonde lazily. Lucy shivered, slowly turning her head to face him. A horrible feeling churned in her stomach as she dreaded what would come when his lips moved. "He's coming for you." he chuckled before falling unconscious once again. Lucy felt the ice run through her veins as she glared in utter disbelief.

"Lucy?" Natsu caught her slow attention. "Who is _'he'_?" Lucy shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving the unconscious man.

"I don't know." She mumbled, turning her frightened eyes back towards the dragon slayer. "I- I- don't-" Lucy's body quivered, knees trembling. Natsu felt a horrible ache in his chest. Why did she look so frightened. Instinctively, Natsu pulled Lucy to her chest, wrapping her in a protective hug as he held the absent minded Lucy. Her arms wrapped tightly around the pink-haired boy. Natsu exchanged worried glances with Erza over her shoulder.

What the hell was going on?

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**-A-ccentric**


	2. The Past's Gift

**The first two chapters were originally one whole one, but they seemed a little long so, I decided to split them :)**

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Shadows  
Chapter 2: The Past's Gift

Team Natsu managed to deliver the young aristocrat's son without any further damage and claim the reward. The journey home wasn't quite as cheerful.

Natsu laid across the red leather booths of the train, nestling his head on Lucy's lap. The travel sickness numbed as the soothing scent of vanilla and strawberry intoxicated the dragon slayer's sensitive nose. In its stead, a different, weaker sickness replaced it. When his eyes were closed, and his ears listened to Lucy's soft breaths, her fingers running unconsciously through his pink, scruffy hair, he felt calm and peaceful.

However, when dark onyx eyes came to occasionally sneak a glance at his blonde friend, the sickness twisted inside of him, knotting his stomach so tight, he thought he wouldn't be able to breathe. She wasn't chatting about nonsense with any other team member like she usually did. She could talk for ages of boring books, plays and clothes. She was quiet. And when Lucy, of all people, was quiet, it meant she was doing only one thing- Over thinking. When Lucy was troubled or feeling anxious about something, she tended to go quiet and think. Natsu didn't always like the outcome of Lucy's quiet moments. He had a feeling he wouldn't like this one either. If only her face would turn from the world outside the window, to him, then he would know what to do. She didn't turn.

Lucy's eyes drifted passed the moving scenery outside of the little train they were on. Green grassy hills were a quick blur. Buildings were faintly noticeable in the distance. The sky, a clear blue. Soft, bouncy strands of fluffy hair felt faintly ticklish between her fingers as they twiddled with his pink, scruffy mane. Warm breath prickled and teased the goosebumps on her arm, scaring away the chill of the carriage. Big brown eyes looked over the small clusters of passing towns through the frosted pre-winter chill creeping up the edge of the glass. In truth, she wasn't really looking at the villages at all, they just passed as indifferent flashes of brown, beige and red. Who was he?, the question wriggled it's way into her mind, rattling her calm thoughts like the train on the tracks. She wasn't sure if she had flinched, but the warm bubble in her chest let her know of the dark eyes watching her. Natsu's gaze had that affect on her, alerting her when he was watching. Maybe it had been because of all the time they had spent together. Many of the guild had known him for years longer than herself and they probably didn't feel it. Nevertheless, raven eyes tracked her face with a careful, and uncharacteristic intensity.

A silent sigh escaped under her breath, as she tried to ignore their drawing allurance. They had interrupted her train of thoughts, which had barely began to move. Thought it didn't take long before they were rolling ahead again.

Once again, the questions began cropping up with a irritating but drawing chime. Who was the silver-haired man, really?, she thought helplessly, How does he know who she is? What man was he talking about? Lucy felt a headache coming on, maybe even a migraine, if she was lucky. Familiar scenery began to crop out of the dull background. More sandstone and welcoming golden buildings began to appear more frequent, and Lucy realized they were nearly home.

Involuntarily, brown orbs glanced down the the dragon slayer cradled on her lap. Surprisingly, Natsu was awake. Normally, he'd be asleep and it would take forever for the stubborn, fire-head to wake up. Big, dark eyes watched her gently, a little smile curving on her lips. That small bubble in her chest radiated across her body, lifting her body temperature, and her mood as well. Somehow, Natsu's smile, full of innocence, naivety and hope, could change her whole mood around. Those big, dark eyes that felt like they saw everything, always felt like they were telling her 'Don't worry'. Because of that, she never really did. Not with Natsu around anyway.

The train let out a harsh whistle as it came to a slowing shudder, and then a stop, at Magnolia train station.

Night swept in like a veil of darkness, coating the sky in a deep, navy blue. Only the glittering moon, that hung like a locket over Magnolia's burning city could escape it's grasp.

Lucy Heartfilia ravenously searched through her bag, trying to locate her key to her door, as her legs ached and whined for rest. They hid within a zipped-up compartment of her purse. She plucked them out swiftly, fitting them into the lock and swinging the door open. A warm burst of air welcomed her home to her snug apartment. Lucy escaped the foyer's chilling, winter daft and draped her wool coat and bag over the hanger besides the door.

As Lucy trotted past her bed, towards the bathroom, she noticed something familiar. More like someone familiar. Two someones as a matter of fact. Curled up under her soft, pink sheets was Natsu, snoring away peacefully with his blue companion balled up at his toes, poking out the ends of the bed. "Jeez," Lucy groaned softly. "you guys always fall asleep here!" she scolded with a gentle whisper. She was thinking she was going to come back to some empty apartment where a big bed waited there for her. Looks like she thought wrong. Instead of feeling irritated or annoyed, she felt strangely relieved to find them there, as cute as always when they were asleep- a masked innocence compared to when they're awake. Another sight later and she hurried into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she returned. Little yellow chicks decorated the new pink pajamas she bought from the clothes retail store in the neighboring town. She had brushed her teeth, combed her hair, tied it back in a bun, and was finally ready for bed.

Unable to break up the cute sleeping faces of the due, Lucy grabbed a blanket, spare duvet and pillow from the cupboard and settled for the couch. She made sure the door was locked, lights were off and everything was tidy before she rearranged her bed scraps into sleeping material.

Nighttime was suffocatingly silent as Lucy laid alone. Moonlight spilled in through the gap in the curtain, lining everything with a incandescent silver glow. Sleep was welcomed, but it never came. It wasn't the couch, it was comfy enough to sleep one. She wondered why Natsu always complained about it when she sent him to it on the days he insisted on sleeping over. Instead, it was lingering thoughts that made the celestial wizard wander back through the day's events. She went back to the cabin, to the room where she listened to that white fox's words and felt the world shake and crack underneath her feet, dropping her into a dark blurry haze. "I wonder what that was?" Lucy whispered quietly. Slowly, she lifted her hand up in front of her face, watching the moon's rays run across her palms. The pink Fairy Tail insignia glimmered a pale pastel pink under the pure light, compared to its rather vibrant shade. as her hands flipped and turned, the light illuminated her skin an icy white. It ran down her fingers, over her palms and down across the iron black shackles that clung to her wrist.

Lucy shrieked, stumbling up to her feet. Pulling her hand back, her body jerked to stop, dragging her down to her knees. The chains began to pull, knocking Lucy onto her back. Quickly, Lucy retreated to sitting up just as her body slowly began to be hauled forwards, closer and closer to the dark shadows where the chains were swallowed in black. Lucy screamed, kicked and dug her nails into the floor. It didn't stop.

A whip, long, thin and black, cracked out a her wrist like lightening. Just as quickly, she launched backwards. Black shadow claws gripped around her, engulfing her whole. "He's coming for you." a voice cackled in the air. The voice drowned out quickly against the thump of loud, heavy footsteps echoing in the dark.

"NO!" Lucy screeched.

Suddenly, Lucy's body flung up with a jolt. Her heart rattled inside her ribs, her lungs gasped for air in her chest, and cold skin, wet with sweat, shivered and shook. Fists clawed and twisted the fabric of the duvet in her palms. The cold darkness of her apartment surrounded her, empty and quiet. "What- What was that?" She exclaimed her voice croaking into a whisper. It was a nightmare. A really horrible, terrifying nightmare that felt too real for her own tastes.

Lucy mangaed to calm herself down with her head cradled between her knees on the couch. Lucy sighed and glanced up, spotting Natsu and Happy tranquil and asleep, just how she had left them. Big brown eyes watched the wriggling toes peaking out from the bottom of the duvet, and she giggled, seeing them waggling and digging for warmth. Hauling herself up quietly, she dragged the blanket off the couch, tip-toeing over to the bed with it.

The blanket draped softly over the dragon slayer's cold toes and tucked it over Happy's sprawled out star-fish. Gaze still wandering, she ended up at the other end, watching the pink-haired boy sleep peacefully. "Gray- take that!" She heard him mumble, slurring the letters as if he was drunk. It couldn't be helped, she giggled. "Lucy~" Natsu whined, catching the stellar mage off guard. Was he awake? Lucy thought with startled surprise. Natsu buried his head closer into the pillow, breathing softly. Sound asleep. Lucy sighed and turned making her way back to the empty couch which was as alluring as it looked .Which wasn't very much. She doubted she'd get much sleep on it anyway. She came to an abrupt stop.

A firm, warm grip tightened around her wrist, holding her in place. As she turned back, she realized it was Natsu's gentle hand, holding onto her in his sleep. Before Lucy could think about what to do in her predicament, she was hurdled backward. She lost her footing, stumbled and crashed into something hard and warm. Two arms wrapped tightly around her as Natsu buried his nose into the nape of his neck, making a low grumble that sounded like a purr. "I'll protect you." he whispered gently into her ear. Lucy's heart suddenly lept, skipping at least ten beats. As she tried to calm her heart, she felt his relaxing breath tickling the hairs on the back of her neck. In and out, slow and steady. The rise of Natsu's chest grazed her back before it fell back down. Lucy closed her eyes, engulfed by the soothing, rhythmic pattern. Her own breath fell in sink with his, concentrating carefully. Before she realized it, she fell asleep wrapped in Natsu's protective and comforting embrace.

Night trickled by and Lucy slept undisturbed till morning, entranced in Natsu's warm. Sunshine rose through her opaque curtains in the early dawn, giving a pale pink tint to her apartment. A rapping knock at the door startled the blonde wizard awake.

As she began to rise from her bed, she felt firm resistance around her waist. One big arm laid gently over her hid, hugging her stomach. Lucy felt her stomach flip and her cheeks flush with heat. Before she could even comprehend her position, the door wrapped again.

Urgently, Lucy flung herself out of bed, twisting out of Natsu's grip and stumbled forward to the door. She grabbed the brass handle, swinging the door open on the person who was in the middle of knocking for a third time. It was her land-lady. The dark-haired, middle aged woman just thrust a small package into her arms, muttered something and left. Lucy watched the woman stalk away from her doorway until the woman was shutting her door behind her, before she closed her own. Lucy shrugged her off and looked down at the package sat in her hands. Faint traces of the chilling draft traveled up the leg of her little chick pajamas and she shivered, feeling goosebumps prickle up her calve.

'To Lucy Heartfilia,' it said in long, black curling letters that flicked at the end. Dusted string wrapped the box tightly together over the dark tan packaging paper. After spending five minutes looking for scissors, Lucy cut the box open. Paper slowly unraveled as the string slipped of. Ripping the box open, Lucy found a smaller box inside. Cautiously she plucked it out, examining it closely. Whispers of snoring could still be heard behind her. Natsu and Happy where still asleep.

Expensive white paper wrapped the forearm-length, rectangular box which was about five inches thick. Red, ribbon crossed the edges and tied into one bow, holding a small tag. On the tag was the same, jet-inked loopy handwriting as the address box. Lucy pulled off the tag, setting it face up on the table. Taking one end of the silk bow, she slowly pulled, watching the ribbon unravel and come undone. Ribbon slid away and floated to the floor. Lucy lifted the white, smooth lid, eager to see what was inside. Laid on a bed of red, paper confetti, was a single flower. A dead, red rose.

The world came crumbling down around her. Her heart rapidly thrashed in her heart, playing her ribs like a xylophone. Lungs cried and pleaded for air. High pitched sirens racked and scratched at her ear drums. Black hazy darkness swirled around her, wrapping its claws around her skin like a heavy, constricting slick of oil. Brown lost eyes trailed back to the little paper tag set on the table. The rest of the world fell out of focus as she read the big black letter, coiling like a snake on paper. 'I missed you, Lucy.'

Child cries blasted through her ears. Glass smashed around her. Chains slithered across the floor. Shadows crept closer and closer, scratching her arms and leg. Lucy froze. Everything towered around her; the faces coated in the blackness of the shadows. She felt her body swing out at the shadow, digging into firm skin with her jagged nails and then recoiling as they lunged for her. A figure followed after her and she staggered, stumbled and fell back into a stone cold wall, dripping with ice and moss. Light loomed up over the figure. Short silver hair folded around his sharp, narrow face, baring the bloody claw marks down the right side of his forehead.

A flickering image darted over her mind. It was her, looking at the same man. He looked older, darker grey streaks cut through his hair, blemishes, and wrinkles covered his kin, but the same weary but sharp eyes were embedded deep in his face. His hand lifted up locks of his long, silver hair. Three shiny, silver scars ran across his forehead. It was him. It was he same man. Red, blood shot across her vision as the image distorted and snapped back into darkness.

Instantly, the man's face looked up in front of hers. She squealed and tried to push back but felt resistance from the wall. Instead, she lurched forward trying the push him aside. "He's coming for you!" His voice shrieked in a horrifying cry as the shadows hungered for her. Its dark cold mouth locked around her arms, rattling like chains. "NO! LET GO!" she screamed, trying to pull free. The shadows melted away, dripping from the cuffs that locked around her wrists and ankles. "NO!" She howled as the shadows pulled and shook her.

"LUCY!" A voice faintly snapped in the darkness, drowned out by the hollowing cries.

"Natsu?" Lucy whispered.

"LUCY!" It bellowed again in a loud thundering roar. The shadows wailed and crumbled away, detaching themselves from the corners of her apartments. The world set back in a slow, hazy focus, lit by faint golden rays of winter sun.

Warm hands locked tightly around her wrists with a secure and gentle grip. "Natsu?" Lucy whispered, letting her gaze rise. A sigh of relief left the dragon slayer's lips as he dragged her into a quick, rough embrace, smothering his face into the nape of her neck. Natsu's skin was moist with sweat and she could feel his hands shaking as the held dearly onto her shoulders. "I'm sorry." she whispered into his vest, burying her head into his chest.

After Lucy calmed down, Natsu decided to go to the guild. They went, called the rest of the team, Master, and Mira and explained the situation. Levy intervened with Gajeel somewhere in the middle. Jet and Droy came after that. Then it was Lisanna and Cana. Them it was Bixlow, Freed, Laxus and Evergreen, along with Elfman. It wasn't long before the whole guild was in on the discussion. The crowd surround the little table where team Natsu, Master, Levy and Mira sat.

Everyone was discussing and contemplating the story while Natsu and Lucy bickered in hushed tones next to each other.

"Natsu, are you sure it was a good idea to tell them?" Lucy whispered.

"Of course." Natsu replied matter-of-factually, giving her a look that said he thought she was stupid.

"But- It was't real- I mean the man was real, but the dream, it was just a nightmare!" Lucy protested, leaning her face closer to his.

"Lucy, you completely freaked out over that creepy present!" Natsu argued, leaning his face even closer.

"But- come on, we don't even know who he is!" Lucy grumbled, turning her head down to her hands that sat in her lap, fiddling with the edges of her blue skirt.

"It's because we don't know who he is worries us even more. I want to protect you, Luce." Natsu smiled sweetly, banging his forehead gently against her when she turned. Lucy's mind jumped back to last night, remembering the same words repeated at the nape of her neck, his warm breath on her back. A hot blush began to creep up her cheeks. "You're my nakama, right?"

"Right." Lucy caved, smiling back to his signature, goofy smile that made her feel hopeful, always.

"Lucy." An old, strong voice called. Lucy span away from Natsu and turned towards Makarov standing on the top of the table, making him seem a little taller than he actually was. At his feet, was the package with the rose, the tag and the latest profile update on the silver-haired criminal. A small sense of unease still churned in her stomach as she looked at them. "Do you have any idea who he is?" Makarov asked, setting the tag carefully in front of her. As her brown eyes scanned over the black, swirling letters, she was only thinking of one word. Shadow. It made her feel uneasy and nauseated as she tried to think of anyone in her past that would send her a dead rose. Lucy shook her head, fearing that if she spoke, her voice would fail her and show everyone the feelings that suffocated her inside.

"Well, we could go talk to this guy." Gray suggested, picking up the criminal report to read the name and dropping it back on the table with purpose carelessness. "Issac Silver- a.k.a. The Silver Fox." Gray recited. Goosebumps prickled all down Lucy's soft skin, feeling a chilling draft despite the warmth of the insulated guild. She felt herself flinch at his name and she involuntarily found her body pushing backwards into the seat, trying to get back as much as she could. It couldn't be a coincidence could it? The fact that she had refereed to him as a fox, as silver one, bothered her.

"Luce!" A voice whispered sharply into her ear. Lucy's head snapped up to catch Natsu staring at her, his face barely inches from hers. Lucy realized how hot she felt and unintentionally jumped at Natsu's surprise. A heavy weight pulled down her shoulders making her jump unnoticeable. Slung around her shoulders was Natsu's arm, radiating warmth through her body like a hot drink in winter. Natsu must have noticed her quietness and realized how she was worrying. But, he said nothing. Lips quirked in a curved line and he gave her a flash of her favorite, goofish grin that always felt reassuring. She sent on back with surprising ease, considering the situation.

"Erza, Gray and Gajeel, go and find out all you can about Issac Silver, I will ask the council to let you see him." Makarov instructed. Lucy realized that she had been over thinking long enough to miss the entire importance of the conversation.

"Natsu, Happy, you stay with Lucy." Makarov continued.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed.

"It's only temporary until we find out who your mystery sender is and if he poses a threat. I would feel guilty, leaving you alone while he's still out there." Makarov moped with his devilish and cunning puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, I understand." Lucy whined, caving in to the old man's manipulation. Quickly, she turned to Natsu and Happy. Both wore childish grins, almost bouncing up and down in their seats. "You get to sleep on the couch." Lucy- rather bluntly- snapped, smiting the boy's straight down into a sulk.

"Wouldn't it be better if a girl we-" A small voice quickly cut off, after speaking aloud from the crowd. As Lucy turned, she noticed Mira had disappeared. She was found right behind Natsu and Lucy, smothering her hands over the lips of her younger, struggling sister.

"It's okay, she didn't say anything. Have fun! We're counting on you Natsu!" Mira laughed nervously, dragging Lisanna by the head into the kitchen. Natsu gave Mira a thumbs up as she disappeared behind the swinging door.

"I wonder what's up with her?" Lucy said, finishing with a yawn. Glancing out the window, she realized the day had already ended. Night had shrouded them in a blink of an eye, loosing morning and midday. Having ate their fill at the guild throughout the day, Natsu, Happy and Lucy headed home.

* * *

**So, Lucy's getting strange gift from someone causing a rush of memories to leap back to her. Whose the Silver haired man and what does he have to do with her past? And now Natsu and Happy have the job of body guarding Lucy, I wonder how that will turn out? Find out in the next chapter ;)**

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	3. The Second Gift

Shadows  
Chapter 3: The Second Gift

Day one of Natsu and Happy's body guarding: Lucy fumbled her keys through the lock on the door and turned it with a flick of her wrists. The door swung open and Lucy found herself looking at the dragon slayer and feline lounged on her bed. "Yo!" Natsu absently waved staring at the ceiling.

Natsu couldn't help feeling a little excited. He got to stay with Lucy for a while. Mostly, it was the sense of relief that came with being Lucy's bodyguard, that made him feel happiest. Somewhere, out there, someone was coming after Lucy. Natsu didn't like that one bit. When Lucy was ever in danger, he would feel a tightening knot in his chest, and found difficulty in trying to draw breath.

Suddenly, a sharp tug at his leg sent him tumbling through the air. He landed hard with a _thump_ on the floor by the bed. A blue fur ball followed him down, landing heavily on his chest, making him gasp. Hands on hips, Lucy's frightening figure towered over them, burning with discipline. "Couch." she growled, dropping spare pillows and blankets on top of them.

"But-" Natsu whined with his best puppy-dog eyes. All he got was a hesitation before she repeated herself, even more harshly. Natsu sulked over to the couch looking extremely wounded like a beaten dog, pouting as he rolled onto the cushions.

Lucy had already changed for bed in her yellow pajamas decorated with little ginger lions this time. Lights off, the stellar mage crawled in to bed, wrapping the duvet tightly around her, fighting off the winter draft.

Darkness hounded the skies, fighting off the orb of light that bloomed peacefully in the night. Its gentle white rays slipped between the bars of the window, rolling onto the hard, cement floor. Iron cuffs rattled on the chains, scraping against the grit walls. "How're you today?" A silk voice called from beyond her cell's dark iron bars, where the world fell into a thick, chocking shadow, cowering from the light. Her heart raced wildly, pumping fear and adrenalin through her veins. "Shall we go use the weird machine again?" It whispered, cutting like a blade through the air. She shook her head.

"Why not?" It spoke again.

"It makes me tired." She whimpered, her voice sounding small and frail, like a small child's. "and it hurts."

"It's okay, you can take a nap if you feel tired afterwards." The voice compromised, sympathetically. Though, she didn't feel any kindness in its words. Lucy shook her head again. Keys jingled in the darkness, but couldn't be seen. The faint click of the lock opening echoed through the dense space of her cell. Lucy fiercely shook her head again, he short, dirty blonde hair whipping around the sides of her face. Her body scrambled back against the cold wall, trying to get as far back as possible. An itching burn radiated in the center of her chest. With a loud, spine-crawling creak, the brass bars swung open, letting the darkness sweep in.

Lucy jolted upwards with a start. Brown eyes darted around, washing over everything. In the dim-lighting and washed over moonlight, she could faintly make out the familiar shapes of her apartment. She sighed, relaxing her body back down, under the sheets. Her skin felt damp and sticky with sweat.

A chilling breeze escaped through a crack in the window and traveled under a bump in the covers. She shivered, goosebumps prickling up her legs.

Warmth settled them back down as it radiated from behind her. A hot spot in the bed called to her like a siren, pulling her back. A firm build stopped her scooting any further back as it pulsated heat across her body. She felt herself relax into the warmth behind her. She closed her eyes and felt the heated weight relax around her stomach, pulling her even closer together. Lucy let out a gentle breath. Soft blonde hair nestled back into the nape of the neck behind her, letting a chin rest on her head. Lucy laid like that for a long while, before she was, slowly, and peacefully pulled back into the world of slumber.

Night passed by peacefully and Lucy woke to the peaceful twittering of birds. She stretched, reaching her arms back above her head and pointing her toes until they touched the end of the bed. Warmth fizzled over her foot as it touched something soft but solid. Lucy gasped, tumbling out of the bed and face planting the floor.

Slowly, she clambered up, rubbing her nose sorely. Instantly, she spotted the pink tuffs of hair perking up from under the covers and the blue fur coiled into a ball at the end of the bed.

"Natsu! Happy!" Lucy yelled. Both Natsu and Happy woke with a start, falling into a heap on the floor, just like Lucy had done.

"Mornin' Luce!" Natsu grumbled, still half-asleep and staggering to his feet.

"What were you doing in my- NATSU!" Lucy snapped again as Natsu dropped his head onto her shoulder. Even being stood up didn't stop him from falling asleep. Lucy clasped his face between her palms, bringing it to look at her. A hand cut across his cheek with brute, merciless strength, echoing the sound through the entire city. That worked.

"OUCH, Luce! What was that for?" Natsu whined, rubbing his cheek with abused dark eyes.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Lucy chimed with obviously fake and excessive delight. "Now you can tell me why you was in my bed." Lucy set her hands on her hips, watching Natsu with her brown, serious eyes ablaze with irritation.

"Erm...well, it was cold and..." he trailed off, scratching his neck, letting his gaze wander.

"And..." Lucy went to push it, but heard her own voice trail off.

"Lu-" Natsu got shoved aside as Lucy barged past, snatching the clock up from her bedside table.

"It's this late already!" Lucy exclaimed, slamming the clock back down. Busily, she collected her clothes and ran for the bathroom.

"What's up, Lucy?" Happy asked, him and Natsu watching her with confusement, still sat on the floor where they fell back down.

"I'm late." She snapped impatiently.

"For what?" They both chimed this time.

"Me and Levy are going shopping!" She growled furiously, slamming the bathroom door shut behind her.

Lucy closed her apartment door behind her as she left. After all the trouble it took for her to kick Happy and Natsu out, she felt tired and it was only morning. Carelessly, she missed the lock a good few times before she finally managed to fit it in. It turned with a click that echoed in her thoughts. Escaped winter winds scooted up the stairs, brushing past her ankles. It sent vibrating icy chills up her spine and pulsated through her veins. Even though Lucy wore heavy clothing, which consisted of thermal underwear, two t-shirts, a jumper and a thick pair of trousers, no forgetting the woolly socks. She winced and shivered, bracing the winter's frost embrace.

As Lucy opened her eyes, an image flickered across her sight. Darkness swallowed everything, only the moon's rays illuminated the small patch of ragged cotton she slept upon. Someone stood over her, stroking away a rogue strand of blond hair from her face with a stone gentleness. Skin touched and it felt cold. The gentle hand, was very, very cold.

Jolting back, Lucy gasped feeling something touch her shoulder. She whipped around and turned on the person behind her. It was only Natsu. Only? Who else was she expecting? Natsu cocked his head to the side, his eyes washing over every inch of her. "Luce?" he asked. For some odd reason, that bubbled something warm inside of her, sending a pink blush creeping up her cheeks. Lucy didn't realize how long they had been looking at each other for. When she did, she quickly turned back on the door and fumbled her keys out the lock, throwing them back in her bag. "Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go!" She chirped, pounding down the stairs ahead of him. Pink hair bounced as Natsu shook his head softly and sighed. After a moment, he lept down the stairs after her.

"Hey Levy, what coffee do you want?" Lucy called, handing jewels over the counter at _MageBuck's_ coffee shop.

"Mocha, please." Levy replied, watching her breath turn into a hazy cloud. Lucy collected the cups, saying thanks to the staff and came over to the blue-haired girl. Levy stopped rubbing her gloved palms together and took the cup off Lucy, pulling it close to her face. Moist clouds of steam washed over her red nose and she sighed in relief of its damp warmth. "Winter sure came fast, huh?" Levy said, walking through the busy streets of Magnolia, fighting the air's bitter chill.

"Yeah, I hope it doesn't get too much colder or else I'll turn into Plue." Lucy joked, taking a sip of her milky coffee, welcoming it's burning flash of heat down her throat. Levy giggled as she tugged her grey scarf up close to her chin.

"Do you think Natsu's okay?" Levy pondered, taking a big mouthful of her drink.

"Sure. Why?" Lucy asked, twisting out the way of someone barging through the crowd.

"Well, he just seemed very upset that he couldn't come." Levy explained. A long sigh escaped Lucy's lips.

"I know," she whined. "I understand he just wants to protect me but I'm really capable of looking after myself when I go shopping." Lucy sighed again.

"Yeah, I suppose." Levy unenthusiastically muttered.

"Besides, if we brought him, all he would have done is complain and want to go home. Sulking at the guild for a little while would be better than that." Lucy pepped. Levy smiled and nodded, finding small skip in her step again"Well, until Gray and Gajeel come back, there's not much that can be done about Natsu. Or you and your constant sulking, so let's go shopping!" Lucy cheered, pushing Levy towards the retail stores at the bottom of the long and busy street.

"Yeah- Wait! I'm not sulking!" Levy protested.

"Gajeel's probably missing you too!" Lucy retorted, waving and skipping off ahead.

Wheels clattered against the cobble stone roads of the outskirts of Crocus. The National Council Fiore branch sat on the far outskirts of the big city. Still the building was surrounded by a large mass of other buildings, painted in similar shades of dull grey. Three Fairy Tail wizards bounced along inside the bumbling carriage. Green and weak, Gajeel laid across one bench, fending off the urge to throw up. Erza and Gray sat on the opposite bench. "I really thought the journey without Natsu would be peaceful for once. Apparently, I was wrong." Gray muttered, glaring at the iron dragon slayer with distaste.

"Shuddap." Gajeel snapped, not bothering to move an inch.

"We're here." Erza coldly stated, jumping up from her seat, a second before the carriage stopped. First off was Gajeel, followed by Erza and then Gray.

Knee high snow filled the wide streets of Crocus. The unusual team of three looked up at the grand, church-like prison in front of the them. A spire towered high up over the big city in an intimidating and beautiful kind of way. Stained glass windows decorated the front and sides as the building stretched back and to the left. Erza gave it one quick glance and marched forward down the long, snow-covered path down to the plain wooden doors.

Although they were at least five stories high, the big doors moved open surprisingly easy.

"We've been expecting you, Miss Scarlet." A very average, middle-aged man spoke, dressed in the clique council military wear. Each in turn, the soldier inclined his head to the other two wizards. "Mr Fullbuster, Redfox."

The door creaked open about five centimeters more, and the group was gestured in. It was a tight squeeze for Gajeel, but Erza and Gray managed to slip through easily.

The ceiling soared many, many feet above them, decorated with winged children and chariots. Rather than seem beautiful, the paintings felt rather intimidating, as if eyes were on you every second. It couldn't be helped. Glass lacyrima balls hid in the nooks and cranny's of the plain stone walls, bearing only crucifixes and candles.

The knight lead them to a narrow hallway that seemed to go on forever. Light got dimmer the further they ventured. That wasn't he weirdest part. Other than the knight, they had seen no other council employees stationed anywhere. Erza had noticed it first, and as she turned, she saw Gray and Gajeel looking around suspiciously at the empty hallways. They had noticed it too.

They came to an abrupt stop outside a small wooden door. There was nothing else to say about it other than the brass handle and the magic keyboard. Swiping a hand across the light, the door opened with a soft hiss. Dry ice spilled out on the cracks like a growing cloud. The guard made no attempt to go through the door. He just stepped aside, clasping his hands behind his back. His reaction didn't shift and he didn't stop Erza as she reached for the handle. Opening smoothly, the reequip mage swung the door backwards. Cold, metal-grated steps descended into a dim darkness with a cold fog creeping up each step.

Erza moved over the threshold smoothly, and stopped. With hesitation, she turned to look over her shoulder at the knight.

"You have one hour." Was all he said, without turning his solid figure to face her. Gray and Gajeel felt unease as Erza stared long and hard at the unblinking knight. Finally, she turned and swiftly headed down, snatching something from a small shelf carved into the wall. The other two boys pounded through the door and down the steps. Gray and Gajeel stopped a few steps down. The knees buckled beneath them and the air was snatched out of their lungs. They dropped onto the stairs trying to find their strength and catch their breath. With a quiet hiss and a clink, the door shut behind them. Darkness lurched up and swallowed them whole, cold skating across their skin.

"What the hell?" Gray gasped, his breath forming into a misty cloud, snatched by the dark. There was a faint clink and the narrow walls and stairs were dimly hit with a pale light.

"It's a magic paralysis room. It drains your magic power until there's only enough to live." Erza explained, continuing down the stairs. Gray and Gajeel struggled back to their feet and staggered after her.

"Why'd they lock us in?" Gajeel snapped irritably, feeling frustrated and tired.

"Because, we're about to talk to a black-marked criminal." Erza added, her tone feeling even colder than the room's freezing temperatures.

"What's a black-marked criminal?" Gray asked.

"Someone even the government is scared of." A voice croaked out the endless shadow ahead. Erza snapped the beaming torch light forward, illuminating the aged, creased face and dark silver hair. The Silver Fox.

"It's you!" Gray growled. "The child snatcher."

"Hey boy, you know my name don't ya? Use it." The man coughed.

"I don't feel the need to." Gray hissed back. Dark platinum shackles clung to his neck, arms and ankles, bolted into the steel walls. A heavy steel plack of metal weighed his body forwards, strapped around his shoulders, ribs and thighs, connecting to another weight at his back, like a overgrown, steel dungarees. He looked older than before, his wrinkles more vivid, bones more prominent, and his hair was more like a scraggly grey than silver. It was his eyes that gave him away. Instead of looking tortured to the brink of death in a dark, empty, freezing cellar underneath a large church, he seemed, content and patient.

"What is a simple kidnapper doing in a black-marked criminal prison?" Erza questioned, setting the light a little lower than his chin.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Issac Silver teased, giving a half twisted smile to the red-head.

"I would as a matter of fact." Erza bluntly replied, keeping her stare hard and cold, locked with his.

"You're no fun." he pouted, returning the reequip mage's glare.

"Shut up and give us answers, Lucy is-" Gray cut himself off, realizing he had said one name too many. Silver's head broke Erza's gaze, whirling onto Gray.

"Lucy?" The man's lips slithered into a smile, showing his pearly white teeth. "How is she by the way?" Deep creases set under his eyes as his glare pounded into Gray, making his head ache. Involuntarily, Gray turned first, dropping his eyes to his feet.

"None of your god damn business, now hurry up and spit out an answer." Gajeel impatiently snapped, stepping into the light, looking as intimidating as ever.

"Oh, You're a new one!" Issac cooed, excitement glittering in his dark weary eyes. "Who are you?"

"None of your business." Gajeel snapped again, feeling uncomfortable under his heavy gaze.

"Gajeel. Redfox." Issac's voice blunted, causing Gajeel to flinch. "Iron dragon slayer, a.k.a Iron Gajeel, former Phantom Lord Guild member. Joined Fairy Tail after its defeated." Silver spilled out, watching Gajeel and Gray look taken back. "'Suppose I was right." he muttered.

"You're a hacker wizard." Erza deduced flatly.

"You're quite a sharp one, Titania." Issac's smile turned sour, his eyes setting back on her, hard. Even Gray could see Erza's eyes struggling not to turn away. After a long few moments, he sighed and turned back to face them all. Sweat trickled down Erza's cheek as a sigh of relief turned into a small, foggy cloud. "Yes, I am a hacker mage, one of the best actually."

"If you were so good, how come it was so easy to capture you?" Gray retorted.

"Because I made it that way." Silver replied with a little chirp of amusement.

"Made it that way?" Gajeel questioned with low suspicion.

"Yes, boy. A plan. I planned it. Do you know what plan is?" Issac spitefully and sarcastically snapped.

"Shut up." Gray growled before Gajeel could react. "Why did you plan to get caught?"

"I was wondering what it was like; never been caught before, y'know." Issac's voice softened. "So I took an aristocrat's cry baby son to cause a big commotion and get caught."

"But-" Gray began, before Erza, who remained quiet until that moment, interjected sharply.

"Who are you hiding from?" She spoke in a level voice. It was obvious; he flinched. His icy, pale complexion turned whiter than what seemed possible as the blood drained from his face. Slowly, his head turned to Erza, eyes narrowing, jaw clenched.

"You're a little _too_ sharp." he spat through his teeth.

"Hiding? Hiding from who?" Gray questioned, his face covered in puzzlement. Gray looked over his shoulder at Gajeel who shrugged.

"It's whom, kid." Issac bitterly snapped. "How far as the standard of language decreased since I was a child?" he muttered irritably.

"That doesn't answer the question." Erza inputted.

Silver dropped his gaze, his body shivering. It wasn't because of the cold. His voice was barely a whisper. "A shadow."

"Lucy!" Levy called, joining her as they stepped out of Blue Lagoon- a popular dress shop specializing in aqua colored dresses. They spilled back out into the flow of people moving through the frosty winter streets. Most were wrapped head to toe in coats with hats, scarfs, gloves and big shoes, some were daring and only wore fashionably thin jackets.

"Did you get it?" Lucy asked, burying her hands in the deep pockets of her red winter coat. Bags on her arms down slid down and cluttered at her wrists.

"Yeah," Levy smiled, lifting up the bag and giving it a gentle shake.

"Good; It looks cute on you!" Lucy complimented.

"Thanks!" Levy glowed, looking past the people surfing down the streets. "Hey why don't we try _Bella's_ for a dress for you?" Levy suggested, pointing to the beige, Italian dress shop just of the corner of the main street.

"Okay!" Lucy agreed and they veered their ways towards it.

A bell rang as the two girls stumbled through. Warm air filled the shop, smelling of fresh clothes and hot coffee. Quickly, a woman appeared from behind a manikin. Brown hair twirled up into a bun on top of her head. Dark make-up looked perfect with her red full lips and blush. Plain black t-shirt with _Bella's_ written in white matched the black trousers and simple shoes.

"I'm Marié, how can I help you?" She smiled, her honey brown eyes gleaming.

"We're looking for a formal dress?" Levy chirped, eyeing the beautiful white dress the woman had been tampering with.

"Oh, well, there are some dresses in the back if you want to look. Over there." Marié directed them to the right-back on the shop with racks and racks of dresses. Levy and Lucy went over to browse as the little bell rang again, notifying the staff that another customer had entered.

"Juvia needs a dress for her Gray!" A very familiar voice demanded.

"Juvia?" Lucy called peaking around the corner. Dressed in a long blue coat with a fur hat, scarf and leather gloves, was the water woman.

"Lucy? Levy?" Juvia replied in surprise as the girls moved over to see her.

"Could it be that you're both off to the winter ball?" Juvia exclaimed. Both girls nodded with smiles.

"Hey Juvia, we were about to try on some dresses, want to join us?" Lucy asked, going back to the rack to pluck off dresses in her size.

"Sure!" Juvia agreed, picking some of her own.

Levy sat outside the changing booths on a plush white couch, sipping hot coffee with cream. The other girl's were slipping into dresses on the other side of the curtains. Occasionally, they would show case them for each other's opinions. All three of them chatted, ignoring the thin barriers of cotton curtains as they switched dresses.

"Levy, who did you ask to the dance?" Juvia asked over the rattling sound of her trying on a dress.

"Gajeel, of course." Lucy interjected before Levy could.

"Really?" Juvia replied. "Well, Juvia supposed you would."

"What does that mean?" Levy flushed and both of the changing girls knew without having to look.

"Come on, Levy. Everyone knows about you and Gajeel." Lucy sighed, swinging back the curtain and stepping out. Dressed in floral purple, the dress was low cut and lengthened as it got to the back. Levy shook her head and Lucy stalked back into the changing room.

"They do not!" Levy protested.

"They do!" Juvia and Lucy called in unison.

"Who are you inviting Juvia?" Levy quickly turned the conversation, taking a long sip from coffee.

"Juvia is inviting Gray!" Juvia coo'ed before stepping out. A long, satin blue dress ran down to her ankles. Sequins shimmered at the torso end. A slit ran down the side, showing off her long, flawless thighs. Levy violently nodded her head. "Yes, definitely yes." Levy agreed adamantly. "Lu!"

Lucy's head popped out from the curtains, her jaw dropping at the sight of Juvia. "Yes. Yes. Yes." Lucy agreed, disappearing behind the curtain.

About two hours later, Lucy still hadn't picked a dress. None of them looked right. Levy was on her eight coffee, Juvia on her third champagne, and Lucy was on her twelfth barrel of depression. "I can't find one at all!" Lucy growled in frustration, dropping onto the couch in a slim fit gold dress. "What do I do?" she whined.

"We can always try another shop?" Levy suggested sympathetically.

"Yeah, Juvia's sure you'll find one." Juvia encouraged.

"No. No more dresses for today. I'm tired and fed up." Lucy growled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I wouldn't give up so soon." Levy mumbled, rising from her seat. She set down her coffee and drifted directly for one dress. Lucy and Juvia followed, watching her curiously. Lucy caught sight of the dress she was looking at.

"Oh, I don't know Levy." Lucy retreated, unsurely. Juvia and Levy both got the same glint in their eyes as they shoved her back in the changing room along with the dress.

Lucy handed over the jewels for the dress and watched as Marié carefully packet it and bagged it. Juvia and Lucy both had to sign insurance for the dresses, in case something happened to them. Lucy filled in her signature on the dotted line and handed clip board and pen back to the dress shop attendant. She took it and disappeared behind a door.

Lucy sighed with relief as she looked down at her dress, packed neatly away in a box, in the bag, in her hand. She was buzzing. She didn't trust Levy at first, but she was right. This was the dress. She couldn't wait to wear it at the winter ball.

"So Lucy," Levy perked as they waited for Marié to return with their receipts. "Are you inviting Natsu?"

"Natsu?" Lucy questioned with pure surprise.

"Yeah Natsu; pink hair, pointy teeth, simple minded..." Levy rambled on.

"Why would I invite Natsu?" Lucy asked, knitting her eye brows together.

"What? Haven't you noticed?" Juvia exclaimed in disbelief.

"Noticed what?" Lucy quizzically and eagerly pushed.

"Natsu, he's in lo-" Levy began but got cut off by Marié's reappearance.

"Lucy Heartfilia?" She called out.

"That's me." Lucy walked back over to the counter.

"Here's your receipt, and here's the dress you ordered the other day." Marié -all business- smiled, handing a box into a clueless Lucy's hands and sticking the receipts on top of it.

"But, I didn't order anything!" Lucy exclaimed, setting the box on the counter.

"You didn't?" Marié looked just as confused, checking the paper work. "Well, this has been ordered for you, paid in full and insured."

"What is it?" Lucy mumbled, lifting the lid of the white box.

Lucy peaked through the gap, and lifted the lid. She unfolded the rice paper over the top.

In the box was a white, cotton dress with black iron chains hanging from it. Something red soaked and stained the white, a bloody red.

Lucy felt her legs collapse underneath her as she dropped to the floor, her body slumping against the desk. Sounds and voices merged into an incoherent murmur, fading by the second. Light, objects and faces drifted into a blur, getting swallowed up by darkness.

"It hurts. I don't want to go again!" Lucy cried out into the dark. She was dragged forwards by the cold, metal that clung to her wrists. Resisting was futile and her small child's legs were getting dragged across the concrete.

"It's okay, Lucy. Just one more time, flower." A soft, silky voice reassured her.

"You said that last time!" She whimpered out into the pitch blackness.

"I was wrong last time, forgive me?" The voice apologized. A red, vibrant rose popped up out of the dark, beautiful and big. Lucy slowly clasped her hand around it, holding it delicately. "One more time, for me, please?" The voice pleaded softly.

"Okay." Lucy agreed, defeated. Clinking of metal rang through the dark. Her hands and legs were snapped apart, pulled in every direction. It felt like a sharp needle pierced her back, digging through her chest and out the other side. Lucy screamed feeling torturous pain sucking the life out of her. Red blood trickled from her chest, staining her short white dress, red. The flower snapped in her fingers and fell into the despairing dark world.

Lucy's eyes snapped open and she tried to sit. Hands on her shoulders pushed her back down. Blurred faces hovered above her and fuzzy voice called out.

Eventually, faces cleared and voices separated. Two blue haired girls and one brown haired woman hovered over her, repeatedly shouting her name.

"Levy? Juvia?" Lucy whimpered softly. Sighs escaped all around her, and Lucy saw the brunette, Marié, hanging closely, looking shocked and worried.

"Lucy, we're going to all go back to the guild okay?" Levy spoke slowly as Lucy tried to comprehend her words at half that speed. She nodded. Levy and Juvia slung each one of Lucy's arms around their shoulders, carrying both the bags equally.

Lucy's mind slowed and turned back to the counter. the box sat open and Lucy could just see the note inside with big, swirly letters. _'I'll be seeing you soon, Lucy'_ And then, she blacked out again.

* * *

**Lucy's received another gift from the mysterious stranger. What do these gifts mean? And whose the sender? What will Erza, Gajeel and Gray learn from Issac Silver? Find out next Monday :)**

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	4. Old Truths

Shadows  
Chapter 4: Old Truths

Natsu paced impatiently up and down the guild, wearing a groove into the floor.

"Natsu~" Happy whined. "Lucy will be fine." Natsu hesitated for a second, gave the cat a good long look, sighed and began pacing again. Happy gave up, sinking onto the table crowded by observant bystanders.

"Whose turn is it?" Elfman asked, sitting back into the chair, exhausted.

"I think it's yours Evergreen." Happy muttered, giving a big yawn.

"Nope. Unless you want him turned to stone, it's Wendy's." Evergreen grumbled.

"Wendy's asleep." Carla moaned, peaking a look at Wendy asleep next to Romeo, her head on his shoulder and his head on her soft blue hair.

"What's wrong?" Lisanna popped up at the table full of drained and exhausted guild members. Happy raised a paw, directing it at Natsu then let it flop back onto the table.

"Why is Natsu so anxious?" Lisanna asked.

"Natsu's just worried because Lucy went out with Levy and refused to let him go too." Mira replied, setting a tray of several hot, creamy coffees on the table. Everyone awake grabbed one, took a big mouthful and sighed simultaneously, feeling a little refreshed.

"Well, I can see why she didn't let him; Natsu would just complain all day." Lisanna sympathized. "Someone should go talk to him." Almost all of the table began to cough and choke on their drink after taking a gasp full of hot coffee as the short-haired mage marched away from the table.

"I bet she fails!" Cana whispered across the table, nursing her fifteenth barrel of wine.

"I bet she does it." Elfman countered, slamming jewels on the table. "Lisanna's a real man."

"Natsu," Lisanna called, sitting on the sideline of his walking margin. "Natsu." she called again and he ignored her twice. She growled a small huff and stood herself in his way. Natsu came to a surprised stop, looking up and seeing her for the first time. "Natsu." she snapped with authority. The dragon slayer took a quick step back and looked at her with confusion.

"When did you get here?" Natsu asked, his head tilting to one side and his pink hair following it over.

"I got here over ten minutes ago, and that's not the issue. You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep doing that." Lisanna warned, setting her hands on her hips. Lucy did that too when she wanted to be stern with him. Maybe it was just a woman thing. Dark onyx eyes washed over his feet and the floor with a saddened gentle gaze. Weakly, Lisanna sighed. She herded him off to the nearest booth, sat him down in it, then took a seat opposite. "Look Natsu, I know you want to protect Lucy, and that's a good thing. It's just, you can't follow her everywhere." Lisanna tried to reason with him. Natsu's face set in an adorable pout like a child who just got told he couldn't have ice cream until he ate his vegetables.

"But there's that guy out there. He's looking for her, he could get her any second. If I'm there I can just beat him to a pulp!" Natsu countered. Once again, his gaze fell down, his hands fiddled with the edges of his muffler.

"And you will once he's shown himself, but until then, just let Lucy have this one day of peace. Levy's with her, and I heard Juvia's shopping near there; she'll be fine; stop worrying." Lisanna tried to cheer him up, giving him a warm smile. Natsu looked up and gave her his old goofish grin. "Lucy's strong. 'Kay Natsu?"

"Lucy's stronger than we all think." Natsu replied unexpectedly, dropping his scarf and perking up.

"I see," Lisanna muttered softly, looking up at the dragon slayer. "You've grown up, hmm, Natsu."

"Hey Happy, want to go fishing?" Natsu called, bounding across the room.

"Aye sir!" Happy sprung wings enthusiastically and left the table where Cana was handing over her lost bet to Elfman.

"Natsu, Happy, you can't go fishing in the middle of winter!" Mira called as hey headed to the door. Natsu took the iron handles into his big palms and swung the doors open. Gusts of whistling winter winds exploded into the guild.

"Natsu! Shut the do-" Cana went to shout but was cut off by Natsu's cry.

"Lucy!" Natsu wailed, darting out the door. Levy and Juvia carried the limp Lucy over their shoulders, struggling to the door. Quickly, Natsu helped them out, scooping Lucy into his arms. "Lucy, wake up! You're a member of Fairy Tail don't di-" Natsu wailed.

"She's not dead." Levy flatly interrupted, huffing out harsh breaths, bent over with her hands on her knees. "She's just unconscious."

"Oh." Natsu said, turning hurriedly to carry Lucy inside. Gasps escaped the guild as they saw Lucy limp in Natsu's arms. A few cried her name in shock and most rushed over, launching out of their seats. "She's just unconscious." Natsu said softly, but the relief in his voice was obvious. Mages shuffled out the way as he made his way to the infirmary.

"What happened?" The guild questioned the exhausted girls. Another brunette was with them but she just put bags and dress boxes on the table and left. She did ask for them to let her know if Lucy was okay when she woke up.

Mira-Jane pushed through the crowd and gave the girls some hot, mint tea. "It was fine until Lucy got that delivery." Levy started.

"Juvia and Levy were buying dresses and the woman said there was order that arrived for Lucy. Lucy said she didn't order anything." Juvia inputted. "She opened the and then..." she trailed off.

"She just dropped to her knees. " Levy continued. "She wouldn't respond to us at all and then, she fainted."

"Juvia and Levy waited for her to wake up in the shop. When she did, she looked so...scared." Juvia added.

"After that we carried her here. She must have passed out again along the way." Levy finished.

"What was in the box?" Wendy asked, woken up at the start of the commotion.

Natsu gently laid the blonde onto the soft bed, pulling the blanket under her chin. For a moment, his hand grazed her chin. Ice jittered up his arm as he felt her cold skin. "Jeez Luce, you're so cold." Natsu whispered, taking off and wrapping his warm, scaled scarf around her narrow neck. He sighed and crawled under the sheets next to her. "Ugh! I'm so tired." Natsu grumbled, burying his head into Lucy's chilled skin.

"I think I'll check on Lucy," Mira said as she made her way up the guild steps. She slid open the door and gasped, spinning away.

"What is it, Mira?" Lisanna called from the foot of the stairs. Everyone whizzed around watching the girl's cheeks light up with a big, devilish grin. She waved a hand at Lisanna who hurried up the stairs. Lisanna pushed open the door and smiled softly. "I think we should leave them be." Lisanna suggested with her elder sister agreeing. "Don't worry everyone; It's nothing." Lisanna called as she floated down the stairs. Mira lingered and watched for a moment before she finally hurried and followed her little sister down the stairs.

Set out on the table was the white, blood-stained dress covered in shackles. Laid on a bed of red rose petals, the white layers of cotton frayed at the edges, looking rough and tough on skin. The black iron-cast handles were rusted, with chipped paint and dried blotches of blood on the inside and out. The deep crimson color of the blood surrounded a small tear in the fabric, the size of a thick needle. Makarov sat next to it on the tabletop, thinking to himself intensely.

"What do we do, Master?" Levy whimpered, curled up in a small chair nearby. Blue eyes kept down to the floor with her knees tucked under her chin, her arms wrapped around them tightly.

"What kind of sick person would send this as a joke?" Cana snapped, glaring at it in disgust. "We should burn it."

"No. It could give us a clue on who this person is." Makarov sighed with the same disgust on his face.

"Lucy, she looked so, scared." Juvia repeated again, looking shaken. Mira and Lisanna draped a blanket over Juvia and Levy's shoulders as an act of reassurance. Juvia and Levy nodded their thanks, tightening the blankets up to their chins.

"I don't like this." Evergreen sighed, dropping the note carelessly on the table. Wendy slowly picked it up, hesitatingly opening her mouth to read aloud.

"I'll be seeing you soon, ...Lucy." Wendy read, gulping back her emotion at every word.

"Why won't this creep show himself?" Cana ranted again, refusing to touch her drink. "Sending presents like this, the freak!" Freed moved around and gently plucked the note from Wendy's small hands. Its paper mass felt like it weighed like a ton in her hands, and she struggled to keep hold of it. She felt relief in her arms when she finally let go. Freed looked and examined it closely, before handing it to Bixlow, who passed it to Laxus.

"It's not encrypted." Freed stated. Laxus read the note slowly, flipping it over in his palm and then passing it to his grandfather beside the column he leaned against.

"He's one hell of a stalker." Macao growled, glancing at the small dress and turning away.

"I don't think he's your ordinary stalker, Macao," Wakaba said, fiddling with his dry pipe.

"No." Bixlow agreed.

"This guy must be from Lucy's past." Laxus called.

"Lucy actually knew a guy like this, poor girl." Cana sympathized.

"I think the problem we have is in the present." Romeo inputted.

"The past can still affect the future, Romeo." Makarov wisely told the young mage.

"He's right, Lucy's past might help to find out whom this man is and why he's after her." Mira added, as she sat in a booth with Lisanna, Elfman, Wendy, Romeo and Juvia.

"There's also her reactions to those boxes." Carla included, sat with Happy and Lily on the table top. "That's not just being scared, that's blind, terrifying fear by the sounds of it."

"She could have rejected the memory of him because of some related trauma." Laxus implied.

"Trauma?" Levy exclaimed. "You mean that Lucy suffered something so bad that she refused to remember it and pretend like it never happened?" Levy stammered, feeling upset and pained as she thought of what her bright and enthusiastic best friend had suffered.

"Either that or they were forcibly forgotten." Laxus added, shifting from his slouched standing position to a pulled-up chair.

"Juvia doesn't understand?" Juvia looked at them with confusement.

"Lucy knows that priest of knowledge or whatever." Laxus replied.

"Hiro Nisaki!" Happy filled in for him. "He was a close friend of Lucy's mother and she grew up with him around a lot."

"He has mind magic and can manipulate memories or, coincidentally, block them." Carla continued.

"He could of done it!" Happy exclaimed.

"I think we should have someone go talk to him." Freed suggested.

"I wish we could, but Lucy told me that-" Wendy sighed.

"Hiro's gone away on a trip and god knows where that sly, old fox could of gone." A voice interrupted from the other end of the room. Everyone whirled around, finding Lucy standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you okay Lucy?" Levy leapt up, rushing to her side.

"I'm fine." she smiled reassuringly. Slow thumping steps staggered down the stairs behind her. Clasping his red cheek softly with a pout on his lips and his scarf almost slipping awkwardly off his shoulder, was Natsu. A bright red hand mark glowed like paint on his cheek.

"You didn't have to hit me." Natsu mumbled, glaring at her with gentle, soft eyes. Levy read the relief and relaxation inside of him like her favorite book.

"I did." Lucy sighed, stalking over to the crowded cluster of mages.

"Lucy~!" Happy wailed flying towards her. Side-stepping to the left, Happy missed crashing and knocking over the dragon slayer as collateral.

"I don't remember who this man is," Lucy gestured to the note and dress. "and I'm not waiting for this _'soon'_. Until Erza, Gray and Gajeel come back, I'm going home." Lucy demanded without any room for objection, and stormed out into the winter night before anyone could protest.

"Quickly Happy, after her!" Natsu leapt up and ran for the door.

"Aye sir!" Happy chimed, sprouting wings and darting after him.

"I hope Erza comes back soon," Levy whispered to herself softly as she watched the doors close in silence.

"A Shadow? What shadow?" Gray demanded, feeling frustrated and confused due to the fact he couldn't follow the conversation.

"Sit down boy, and I'll tell you the whole story." Silver snapped impatiently. Gray pouted, sitting on the floor next to Gajeel and Erza.

"Continue." Erza demanded sternly. Issac sent her a sharp glare before he cleared his throat and began again.

"About thirty years ago, I was youthful and already a infamous hacker mage. I had recently earn't the nickname _'Silver Fox'_ for hacking into council information, when I met a strange man who called himself Jaedou. He was a genius and very charismatic. He came and told me all about his big ideas for the world of magic and spells. I was recruited to join him. I accepted, of course. He had charmed me into feeling necessary in his big plans. Jaedou's theories were about using magical energy to increase our longevity. A few years later, he came to me and told me he had found an artifact that draws out another's magical energy. All he needed to do was get it to work. It took me just about five years until it was complete. The artifact worked only under moonlight and one of our other friends who Jaedou had recruited, volunteered to be the first test subject.

"The way the artifact works is that when the moon is at its highest point in the sky, it absorbed its energy as a conductor for magical energy. A fine needle then pierces the user through his back into the core of your magic energy. The moon energy drags out his magic energy and transfers it to a capsule which can be injected into another."

"However, the moon's energy capabilities were underestimated. The energy absorbed every ounce of magical energy out of the young lad. He died during the experiment. Other than that, the trial was successful."

"Jaedou took it upon himself to test the vial of energy first. He suffered a great deal of pain for a long time. Once it subsided, he realized that his body had began to show signs of regeneration. Except the effects didn't last long. A few months at most."

"In order to keep his body regenerating, Jaedou began kidnapping those with high magic energy capabilities. Each and everyone was killed by the machine. As years and years passed, Jaedou became obsessed with it, demanding many more lives. Until one day, he snapped."

"I tried convincing Jaedou to stop but he forced the girl he loved onto the machine. Jaedou turned it on. By the time he realized what he had done, it was too late and she was dead."

"That night Jaedou left and I didn't see him for ten years."

"One night I was hacking a high up business man's home for information to trade for money. Jaedou suddenly appeared and he looked horrible. His body was deteriorating and the aging process of his body was twice as fast. He begged for me to save him, to help. We returned to the artifact and Jaedou found a street junky who had high magic energy levels."

"That night was what kicked the circle back in motion. It was all too Deja vú. His body became adapted to the injections and he barely felt the change, he was just a little uncomfortable for a while. Jaedou went mad in the past, but this Jaedou was calm, collected and rational which was much worst. He recruited enough men for a small hit team, making me it's leader. We were sent to kidnap more and more people, caging them up like slaves in cells, and killing them off one by one.  
One day, Jaedou came to me with a request. Normally, he left me to write the bingo book, but an ally of his, requested for the bedriddence of a young business man's daughter. Jaedou didn't mind, and accepted."

"The night of that very same day, I lead my team to infiltrate and kidnap the young, Lady Lucy Heartfilia."

"Lucy? You kidnapped Lucy, you fiend!" Erza snapped.

"The one and only." Silver smirked, his fox's tail swaying.

"That can't be right." Gray protested. "A while back Lucy told us that she was _almost_ kidnapped. _Almost._"

"She probably doesn't remember, well, it's more like she's beginning to remember something she forgot a long time ago." Issac purred with a bitter smile.

"But-!" Gray protested.

"Are you going to let me finish, boy?" Silver hissed.

"I'm no boy, you old geezer." Gray retorted.

"Gray, shut up." Erza snapped. "Continue." She demanded harshly, turning on the old, grey man.

"We took Lucy and kept her locked up in a cell with another young aristocrat lass. We never bothered with her much. At the time we hadn't known much about her and she stayed down there for a few weeks. We always had others we could use for the experiments, so we never really needed her."

"Times became a little tight when our hauls got lower. On a whim, Jaedou just said to use the girl and get whatever little we can from her. She was a fearsome little brat. The three scars on my forehead was from where the runt had clawed at me. In the end, I managed to haul her down to the artifact and bolted her up. Many children like her had died on that ancient alter before. The girl she was locked up with died two days earlier. But, she was different. Lucy exceeded the scale of the machine. Magic energy was pouring out of her in gallons. Her magic capacity was impossibly large for such a little girl. She managed to overload the artifact and we had to shut it down before it exploded."

"Lucy was amazing. She was far more powerful than any mage I had came across in my lifetime. We hadn't noticed it until then because a seal was placed on her and locked away most of that power. The needle hits the core of your magic and can override any seal. However, the seal was powerful so we were only able to open it up a fraction."

"Jaedou was overwhelmed. He ordered Lucy to be treated straight away and to dispose of any other potentials. We did as we were told.  
Once Lucy recovered, he made me alter the machine to fit for Lucy's capacity. It took a few weeks, but I managed to fix the machine. However, it would only work through a direct transfer. The risks were high and Jaedou knew he could die but he volunteered himself."

"Jaedou tricked Lucy with his pretty words and made her cooperate. He broke her will down so there was nothing left of that feisty child I met. At first, Lucy would often cry and scream in pain while she was on the artifact. After so many times, she stopped crying or fighting. Lucy became lifeless."

"He magic's effects on Jaedou was different than any kind before. He became stronger, his own magic strength increased rapidly. Other than just showing signs of rejuvenation, his body had actually looked frozen in time. Jaedou had legitimately became immortal."

"It wasn't long before Jaedou was discovered. Then they appeared. White cloaks with black crosses over them; The priests of knowledge. It was a gruesome battle but they managed to defeat Jaedou and rescue Lucy. I fled, hoping to escape. Jaedou's cries echoed in me that night and I knew- no, I thought, he was dead."

"A few months ago, I received a present. It was the head of a silver fox. I knew right then he was alive. That's when I set in motion a plan to be hidden here, in a prison were no one knew I existed. Even the government hid my existence from the world."

The atmosphere shivered into stone, weighing heavily on their shoulders. "So...it's Jaedou whose coming for Lucy?" Gray whispered softly, trying to speak through the lump in his throat.

"What can we do? This guy sounds bad. Real bad." Gajeel mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his place.

"Don't underestimate him; He's your worst nightmare." Silver growled, his lips turning up in a snarl.

"So, how do we defeat him?" Gray growled back.

"Kid, do you know what Jaedou is in Kanji?" Silver mused.

"Shadow." Gajeel whispered in a low, dark tone.

"You can't hide from a shadow. All you can do is pray to God that you'll get to see Lucy one last time." Silver hissed venomously. "Because once he finds her, you'll never see her again!"

"We need to go. NOW! GO!" Erza snapped, sending them all bolting up the steps.

"It's too late." Silver whispered softly.

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**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

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**-A-ccentric**


	5. Winter's bite

Shadows  
Chapter 5: Winter's Bite

Lucy looked out at the cold winter night, letting the breeze flow through her hair. Warmth glowed behind her as Natsu moved up towards her. "Winter's such a beautiful season." Lucy spoke softly.

"Are you hoping for snow?" Natsu asked, leaning over the ledge, sticking his face out in the breeze next to Lucy's.

"Yeah." Lucy sighed with a calm smile. "I really hope it snows." Natsu turned to her with a gentle expression and smiled the big goofy grin she adored. She giggled, looking back out to the vacant night streets. "Thanks Natsu."

"For what?" Natsu asked distantly.

"Protecting me." Lucy sighed with a gentle breath of cold air. Natsu turned to her sharply in surprise. It settled into a thin line as he smiled, draping a heavy arm over her shoulder.

"Anytime, Luce!" Natsu gave her a thumbs up. "We're nakama after all." Lucy nodded giving him a small high-five.

"Let's get some sleep." Lucy said, closing the window. Natsu leapt across to her bed, almost reaching its soft cozy sheets. "Couch!" Lucy snapped, freezing Natsu stiff. A pout set hard on his face as he turned and sulked back over to the couch.

Lucy tossed and turned, but sleep wouldn't come. Rolling onto her side, she sighed in frustration. Across the room, she saw pink hair glittering under the light pouring through her window. Soft, gentle snoring whistled across the room. For some reason, Lucy felt at peace watching the dragon slayer sleep. Seeing him calm kind of reflected inside of her. A blush crept up on her cheeks and her heart skipped a little beat. What am I doing?, Lucy gasped in thought. "It's just because I'm tired." Lucy deduced, rising from her bed to get a glass of water.

As she walked back to bed with a half-full glass of water in hand, she stopped by the couch. Brown eyes slid across the couch and landed on the sleeping boy. Natsu's face and expression looked adorable as he mumbled some kind of insult to Gray. "You're so cute when you sleep." Lucy whispered, setting the glass on the table. For a while, Lucy crouched beside him, watching the boy's strange sleeping face.

Subconsciously, she had reached out to touch his soft pink hair. When she realized, she retracted her hand quickly and stood up. "What am I doing?" Lucy whispered. She shook her head softly at herself. Her hand rustled Happy's blue fur and he rumbled and little purr. Lucy chuckled, turned and moved to go back to bed.

Something clasped around her wrist, jerking her back. Lucy tumbled backwards into a warm chest and arms that wrapped around her waist. Lucy gasped as a voice mumbled behind her. "Luce is mine~!" Lucy's heart went wild in her chest, pumping a hot sensation across her body. Lucy didn't need to see to know she was blushing.

Instinctively, Lucy fought Natsu's strong embrace and escaped, scrambling backwards. "What was that?" Lucy huffed, trying to catch her breath. Natsu slept soundless, with Happy snoring at his feet. Lucy shakily stood up, watching Natsu with a gentle disbelief. "That shocked me."

"It should." A voice whispered behind her, like gentle silk. Lucy gasped as a hand snapped over her mouth. She was dragged backwards into strong arms that easily fought her attempt at escape. A scream tried to escape her mouth but it was smothered into a silent murmur. Lucy's arm reached down to her belt. It wasn't there. Lucy's hand patted her waist desperately. A glint across the room caught her eye. Her belt! It was sat on the dresser on the far end of the room. She...She'd taken it off. Legs kicked, arms wriggled and her head shook, but Lucy couldn't break free. She was losing the fight and getting dragged back on her heels. Natsu and Happy slept peacefully on the couch, unaware of the situation.

Her only chance was to get their attention. She was nearing the door, inches from the couch, grazing distance from the table beside it. The table! That was it! Still sat close to the edge of the small table, was the glass of water, one knock from falling. Getting as close as she could, Lucy swung her leg. It hooked around the table leg and she pulled. The glass jerked sideways, rocked and tipped, falling hard towards the floor. A flutter of hope burst in Lucy's heart.

A hand sprang out of nowhere, catching the glass and water in one fluid motion. Another man in black had appeared. That was her last chance. Hope vanished and she was slipping out of the door. The other man sighed silently in relief as a small drip of sweat trickled down his face. It dripped from his chin, falling to the floor. Before he could react, it landed with a splash on the floor. Lucy felt the man holding her's head snap to the side at the man. The other man looked petrified. Lucy could only seem him in the doorway before she was jerked back down the stairs.

Glass smashing echoed through the foyer, making the man hasten his pace. The man threw open the building door, swinging Lucy's struggling body threw it.

Suddenly, something cashed in front of her from above, spitting torn up concrete and dust.

"And I was hopin' for this to be simple." Her capturer's voice groaned softly. As the dust cleared, Lucy could make out a pink blur standing in their way.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelped under the cover of the man's hand.

"You!" his voice rippled as he stepped out the smoke. "GIVE LUCY BACK TO ME!" he yelled, throwing a flaming punch straight towards his face. A hiss snapped from the man's lips into her ear. The man whirled backwards, recoiling back into the house and dragging Lucy along.

Suddenly, figures in black began to pour out the shadows. They began filing in the door, blocking Natsu's path.

Lucy was dragged and dragged through the floors of the corridor. They passed through a small kitchen. A little red stove, microwave and blue counters were scattered over the white tiled floor. Brown orbs jumped around, taking in everything like she was on an adrenalin rush. Lucy caught something in the corner of her eyes. There was an open doorway with a crack giving way to a streak of view into the next room. Still, wide red high heel shoes filled with thick, short legs peaked through. The landlady! A whimper of fright escaped out of her smothered lips. Was she dead? No. She won't be. They probably just knocked her out. Still, she couldn't let them get away with it.

Noise and voiceless rattles echoed through the corridor. Lucy wriggled more and more, kicking and throwing herself back and forth. Lucy managed to get a good kick in his knee and his leg buckled. As the man fell, he collapsed against the door they came through, slamming it closed. Before he got up, Lucy quickly ransacked the draws until she found something useful. Holding a silver stained butchers knife in one hand and a fine pointed knife in the other, Lucy wielded them at him.

Dressed in black, leather attire, he wore a mask and a hat that dipped and the top half of his face. Long, jet hair spilled down half his back, tied in a low hanging pony tail. Dark eyes looked up under the narrow cut of the rim of his hat, watching her intensely. The hat dropped back down.

Lucy's hands shook as the blades felt heavy in her hand. Those eyes were so...familiar. An image flashed across her eyes._ A tall man with dark eyes. They were masked by the shadows, coating the hallway. The barred gate swung open with a horrifying creak. Shiny, glossed shoes took an echoing footstep into the light. Shadows reeled up his dark suit, as moon light washed over his open white shirt and loose silk tie. A sharp chin pierced the shadows into the light. Then his eyes protruded into view, but were still pods of dark abyss. That cold loneliness they radiated felt like it was choking her without sound._

Lucy came crashing back into reality, thrown back into the little kitchen that turned bland and cold. "Y...You...I...I know you!" Lucy stuttered, the blades slipping from her fingers. They landed with an echoing clatter against the floor. It was like a train had crashed straight into her, crushing her chest. All the strength in her legs bled out and she dropped weakly to her knees. Cold tiles numbed against her body that radiated heat and burned, but was slowly freezing on the inside.

"Good," his silky voice whispered. "It would hurt my feeling if ya didn't." Slowly, his body rose up, using the door to stand.

"...I do...But...I don't know. I know but-" Lucy mumbled. A force pounded against her skull. It was like she had been trapped in a bubble for so long and she couldn't escape. Slowly tearing herself apart, wanting- needing to escape. "I know but...who are you?" Lucy whimpered her hands pushing against her temples.

"Damn." The guy growled, dropping to his knees next to her. Lucy mumbled frantically, pushing harder and harder against her head. The man sighed, slipping a hand into his jacket pocket. What he drew out, was a slim, sharp needle. Blue-red liquid glittered in the dim-kitchen lighting. Lucy ignored him, trying to settle her exploding thoughts, expanding and bursting like fireworks in her brain.

The man ripped off the cap and smoothly slid it into her air. Pressure pounded in her arm, pushing into her veins like a solid. Lucy gasped, scrambling backwards. She scuttled back desperately until she collided with the little blue-painted wall. Thoughts slipped from her grasp and her mind went blank. Someone approached, moving slowly like a stalking black cat.

"Lucy." The man called. It was like a soothing lullaby washing over her mind. But a sour taste was dry on her tongue. Lucy stumbled up to her feet, catching another door to her right. It was hidden in the corner, so she hadn't seen it before. Lucy swung it open and a freezing, blundering breeze burst into the room.

"Lucy wait!" His soft voice called behind her as he cautiously approached. She didn't wait. Lucy threw herself out the door and darted into a dark, damp alley. She didn't like him. '_Bad, Bad, Bad' _the thought resounded, the feeling echoing in her body, bouncing of her bones.

An icy chill skated up her feet, numbing her skin with frost. Impulse made her sprint left, following the corners. Navy blue skies, clotted with heavy grey clouds, loomed above her. Footsteps pounded behind her, overtaking her pace.

She found herself searching, searching for someone. Not just anyone, but a specific someone. Lucy darted out of the alley, falling into a barren street. Water rushed down a canal beside her, whistling the biting wind. A black carriage lined with silver brass and hooked to two jet shire stallions was waiting a few buildings down. A crater threw up the concrete street into rubble and dust.

For some strange reason, she felt drawn to it. Well, not really it, being the crater, but more for the reason it was there. Why was it there? What did it? Who? Something told her she knew, but the thoughts just wouldn't come. Nevertheless, her bare feet urged her forwards to where her safety waited.

A group of men dressed in black flew backwards onto the pavement ahead of her. Lucy came to a slow stop, scanning them without the slightest edge of sympathy. Footsteps behind her grew louder, coming closer and closer. Lucy flinched as her body jolted forwards into a sprint.

As she darted past the open door of the building, she heard a voice screaming inside. Her body kept moving ignored the sound.

Lucy's feet involuntarily stopped as she heard a voice called out crystal clear. "Lucy!" It called behind her. Her heart began to race, pumping a tingling sensation throughout her body. Unlike before, when the man called her name, it felt warm and welcoming, beckoning the protection and strength she desired.

Suddenly, the urge inside of her made her body whirl, her voice unconsciously calling out a name that burned a longing and warmth for him. "NATSU!" The familiarity rolled off her tongue, with a smile glistening on her lips.

Scraggly pink hair sprung out in random spikes. A strong built body was covered in bruises and cuts. Dark, onyx eyes washed over her with concern. The white scaly scarf floated around his neck. Red hot flames dissipated from his clenched fists, squeezing with intensity. His strained face settled into a relieved smile. "Lu-" his voice whispered softly before his face suddenly contorted with shock. "LUCY!" Natsu cried, his body jumping into a run.

Lucy didn't even notice the shadow of the man loom up behind her. The pale, strong fingers silently pushed into her throat. The slow steady pulse of his body pounded gently on her skin. Soft, gentle breath steamed and melted against her numb skin. Though gentle and soft, his hands were pounding magic energy down her throat. Lucy gasped a startled cough of shock. It was practically pouring out of him. The tingle of magic felt familiar and welcomed by her body as if it was hers to begin with. It rushed and absorbed into her skin, filling a small empty space inside of her.

"I'll be seein' you again," His voice whispered in her ear, colder than the winter air. "I'll be waitin'." like a cloud of smoke, he disappeared, his hand slipping from her neck.

Breaking out into a sprint, Lucy ran and ran as fast as she could until the warmth of his chest pressed warmly against her cheek. Strong arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her in tight. Cold tears slid down her cheeks as she sobbed in fright as her body shivered in fear. "Sh, calm down, Luce. It's okay; he's gone." Natsu whispered frantically, scared of Lucy's fright, unable to do anything but hold her.

"I was so,_ so_ scared." Lucy cried, her hands tightening around Natsu's back, holding on as hard as she could. Natsu held her tightly as she cried on the cold chilling nights of the on coming winter.

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**:O. GASP*!**

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**Look out next monday for the nex chapter update :)**

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	6. Ours

Shadows  
Chapter 6: Ours

Happy appeared a while later with the entire guild at his heels. By then, Lucy had cried herself to sleep, confused and exhausted, clinging to the dragon slayer's warmth.

Natsu brought Lucy to the guild, keeping her close as he explained everything that happened. Lucy slept, clinging tightly to the dragon slayer as he sat at the guild tables. Her blond hair sprawled down his back as her head rested on his shoulder, nestled into his neck. Tear tracks on her cheeks were fading and the smell of salt was growing faint. Dark onyx eyes couldn't bear seeing the black and blue bruises along her neck. Dragging the white, scaled scarf off, he wrapped it softly and snugly around her neck, hiding them from view.

Natsu was glad she was sleeping so at least she wasn't crying. It hurt so much seeing her cry. He absoloutely hated it. But worst of all, he felt powerless, unable to do anything to protect her from those tears. What kind of friend was he if all he could do was hold her when she cried?

Happy's eyes drifted from the group of mages surrounding him, falling onto the pink haired dragon slayer. He was huddled up in a guild booth with Lucy by his side, under his strong, protective arm, far away from discussion. Leaving the Fairy Tail mage circle, he made a cautious move over to where he sat. It was obvious on his face, the emotion; anger, frustration, pain, sorrow, grief and fear. After hearing what happened, Happy understood that Lucy could have been seriously hurt, and that bothered Natsu like the plague.

"Natsu," a voice called softly from behind the blue furry cat. Gently, a hand rested on Happy's narrow shoulder as a silver- haired mage passed. Mira gave Happy a reassuring smile and sat down across from the dragon slayer. Happy nodded and floated back to the stratifying guild members.

Natsu's head rested on Lucy's, his eyes slowly acknowledging the bar maids prescense. When he realised, he lifted his head and yawned. Before replying, he checked if Lucy was awake, which she wasn't, and then turned to Mira.

"Hey, Mira." Natsu groggily whispered, cautious not to wake Lucy up.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Mira apologised simpathetically, keeping her voice low.

"No. Just a little tired s'all." Natsu replied, gentle dropping his head back onto Lucy's soft, golden hair.

"You must be." Mira empathised, placing a flat, pale hand on the table. Natsu made a small gesture for a nod and let his eyes droop, dozing off into a world basked in strawberry and vanilla. Mira smiled softly, turning to look at the large group of bickering mages, coming up with crazy ideas.

"It's not your fault Natsu." Mira spoke, not looking at him. Dark eyes flickered over to her, watching Mira's distant gaze. His heart jumped, squeezing and aching in his chest.

"Yeah," Natsu blandly replied. Turning a pale face, Mira's eyes looked at Lucy softly. A gap peaked in the scarf, showing the darkening bruises of fingertips decorating her neck. Natsu gently pulled the white scarf up to her chin, covering the bruises.

"Natsu." Mira whispered softly. A long silence stretched, turning empty and cold.

"She could have died," Natsu finally spoke. "Right there and then. And I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. Nothing."

"Nat-" Mira tried to interrupt but the dragon slayer cut her off.

"I let my friend get hurt. And that's on me. So, I will take responsibility, and I will find this guy, whoever the heck he is," Natsu's voice turned into a threatening, determined growl, lifting higher than a whisper, catching the ears of the guild members. "and I will beat him ten-fold for what he's done. He has hurt our irreplaceable friend and made himself an enemy of Fairy Tail. We will not let him get away with hurting our nakama!"

For a long moment, the guild was quiet. It was Happy who broke the silence. "AYE SIR!" he yelled. Suddenly, the guild roared like a chain reaction, cheering with determination and anger. They all wanted to help Lucy, and they would die trying. Natsu wouldn't let that guy get away with what he's done, and nor would Fairy Tail. Mira looked among the rallied mages with surprise, and then a small twang of love. This was her guild. This was Fairy Tail. And this, is what nakama are. Mira turned to Natsu, seeing his eyes ablaze with dark anguish.

Suddenly, the guild doors exploded open letting cold air burst in with winte's chilling bite. Stood in the open doorway, was Erza, Gray and Gajeel. The three mages burst into the guild, faces teased in worry and anxiety.

It only took a second for Erza to see something had happened. They were too late. They were relieved to see Lucy asleep next to Natsu, hiding away in the guild corner. Other guild members were present and cluttered at the top of the guild. It must have been serious since alert was fixed hard on everyone of their faces.

"Erza, Gray, Gajeel." Master charged towards them. "What did you find?"

Erza explained in detail about what information they had found whilst talking to Issac Silver. She apologized for not arriving sooner, but the master snapped her back in line. Though it is easy to blame oneself, the truth is hard to accepted, but sometimes the hard path is the right one.

Natsu sat with Mira, Gray and Happy in silence, wondering what to do about their favorite celestial wizard, still asleep.

Warmth cooked her like a frosty winter's fire. A tense pounding strained her throat. A silky smoothness soothed over it, wrapped around her neck. Voice muttered distantly in her ear and footsteps paced up and drown across the wood pannelled floors. Soft breathing whispered closely in her ear, in sync with the rise and fall of her body. The soothing, rough smell of burnt toast tickled her nose. A hard, soft build supported her limp, weak body. Something rested on her head, gently letting her own head fit into the nape of their neck.

Lucy slowly cracked open her eyes, peaking at the surroundings. They felt dry and sore as they opened. At first, everything looked like colorful blurs, barely moving. Eventually, the images focused into the people she knew. Gray sat slouched back in the booth with his arms crossed over his bare chest, his eyes looking absently in the distance. Where did his shirt go?, Lucy thought numbly. Mira twiddled a thin piece of silver hair between her fingers, watching it with the same distracted gaze. A blue fur ball sat on the table picking at a fish bone with his sharp claws, picking meat out of the nooks and crannies. Her did it with slow, long turns of his talons, silent in deep thought.

Lucy watched them for a while, putting aside the distant muttering.

Slowly, she began to fade from her trance, half-asleep state. At the same time, a hard, burning pressure grabbed her throat. The harsh scratching set in rapidly, sending her lunging up from her seat. Everyone around her jumped in surprise as she let out a harsh rasp of coughs. "Lucy!" Happy gasped. Mira leapt up from the table and darted to the kitchen, returning with a glass of water. When Lucy had a gasp, she quickly swallowed down the water, temporarily soothing her sore throat. A second after, she almost began choking on the water. Gray jumped in to quickly swipe the glass out of her hand. Mira patted her on the back gently as she calmed.

When she finally did, Mira left to make her some honey laced tea. Lucy reached up and felt the silky, warm material around her neck. As she looked down, she realized what it was. She had wondered why it felt so familiar. Natsu's dragon scale scarf rested snugly round her aching neck. A flutter of her heart lead a small blush to rise on her cheeks. However, it all sank too quickly. Lucy's fingers clutched the fabric, feeling its delicate strength. She knew what would lay under there, but, she had to see. Slowly, she took a deep breath and tugged the fabric.

A strong, warm hand clasped gently, but firmly around hers, stopping it still. Eyes traced along the warm, tanned, strong arm. Soon, she found her gaze staring into a black abyss. It swarmed her like a fire, swallowing her into the guilt, sorrow and pain. Its dark hold, clasped around her heart, sticking like oil, getting heavier the longer she looked. Lucy stared at the dragon slayer, letting him pull her into his existence. But the weight of his hand felt heavy, holding her in reality. She couldn't hide in Natsu's existence forever. She wanted- No, _needed_, to see. With a gentle shake of her head, the raven eyes dropped, stuck with the hard oily blackness wallowing and bubbling inside of him. The stone weight of his hand slid softly away from hers. Dark eyes flickered back to her as she pulled the fabric again.

The silk scarf shifted and slid from her shoulders, falling into a weak pile on her lap. Next, she reached towards Mira who set down her tea and handed her a small pocket mirror. "Lucy, I don't think-" Mira tried to change her mind. But, Lucy went on, leaving the girl's voice to drift out of sound. Pink and white jewels decorated the reflective mirror in her hand. They glimmered and sparkled, refracting light as Lucy tilted it towards her.

Black and blue bruises rested on her neck in a strange curved arc around her throat. the shape of the fingers were easy to make out against her pale skin tone. Lucy felt the throb of the bruises pound higher, aware of their presence inside and out. The mirror in her hand felt like a heavy rock, and Lucy's hand shook as she tried to set it gently on the table. "Lucy?" Gray asked, watching her hands retract to sit calmly on her lap. Muscles contracted and twitched under her skin, clenching her jaw. Brown eyes set hard on the mirror on the table with a burning intensity, but cold as ice.

"Luce?" Natsu whispered in her ear, his hand wavering to reach out and touch hers. Eye lids dropped down over her dark honey eyes, letting the silence sink in. Lucy stayed quiet for a long moment, waiting.

At last, she felt it pass and her fists relaxed and her shoulders fell back into the chair. A long loud sigh growled from her lips. The tense atmosphere rumbled and shattered. Pieces fell as the guild fell into relaxation. A small smile tugged at the edges of her lips into a steady curve. "It's okay. I'm okay." She whispered softly, more to herself than anyone. "I'm okay."

"But Luce-" Natsu interupted, his eyes burning with the pained flames of concern.

"Natsu." Lucy spoke softly, interrupting him with a firm precision. Natsu moved back an inch, staring achingly at her closed eyes facing up to the cieling. Slowly, those eyes opened, revealing big, brown pools. They rolled as she turned her head, lifting her body to sit straight. She watched Natsu full in the face, her eyes taking a strong hold on his. He found it impossible to move, to look away, to even breath. Something had a hold on Natsu, something in her eyes was gripping onto him with a force that made his heart squeeze. "I'm scared." She bluntly spoke. Small gasps escaped in a choir around them, glancing at her in surprise. "But, that's okay." her voice softened, but her eyes didn't blink or look away from the pinned dragon slayer. "It's okay to be scared, because I've got you." Lucy smiled. Natsu looked at Lucy in disbelief. It was like she was glowing, beaming with a pure, unnearving light. Natsu knew what it was in her that he saw; strength. Lucy was much stronger than anyone realised, maybe even stronger than himself. Lucy was strong in an entirely different way. It was all because she believed. In herself. In them...In him.

Natsu felt the entire atmosphere shift. Lucy made that happen and Natsu knew exactly what to do with it. "Lucy's right!" Natsu snapped. " We will protect Lucy because she is _our_ fellow wizard, a member of _our_ Fairy Tail, _our_ nakama!" Natsu roared, setting onto the table. "LET'S KICK THIS GUY'S ASS!" Natsu set his fists into roaring flames, burning with the passion to fight.

"AYE SIR!" The guild rallied in response, the fight burning inside of them like Natsu's fists. Relieved and glowing with determination, the guild scattered about, rushing to find leads and clues.

Natsu nodded with a grunt of approval and jumped down from the table. A grin plastered Lucy's lips as Natsu turned to find her beside him. "Well done, Natsu." Lucy laughed. The celestial wizard stepped forward, reaching her arms around his neck. She leaned in, pushing around her tip toes. The silky fabric of the white, scaled scarf dropped around his neck, falling over his torso. "Much better." Lucy nodded with satisfaction, her hands sitting on her hips giving him a look up and down.

Swiftly, warm arm grabbed her shoulders and pulled her quickly into a hard, strong chest. Natsu's arms wrapped around her tightly like he never wanted to let go. "Don't worry, Luce; I'll protect you, I swear!" Natsu whispered his vow into her ear. The hushed words engraved like a plaque of gold into her heart, never to be broken, never to wear away, to be there, forever.

"N- Natsu." Lucy hushed in shock, finding that his name was all she was capable of saying. Warmth flushed over her entire body, her heart squeezed tightly and her existence tingled with an energy she had never felt before. A small, almost inaudible sigh escaped his lips, brushing across Lucy's neck, sending electricity jolting through her bones. Muscles in his arms relaxed, and to Lucy's hidden dismay, hesitantly slipped away. Dark eyes locked softly onto hers. At her bewildered expression, Natsu felt a small giggle arise. Confusion shifted into her beautiful, big eyes, looking up at him.

"We're nakama, right Luce?" Natsu smiled, baring his signature, mischievous and adoring grin.

A small voice in Lucy's head told her that maybe, they were more than what he claimed. But, right then, it was all Lucy needed.

"Right!" Lucy agreed, giving a thumbs up and a smile of her own.

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	7. Strength

Shadows  
Chapter 7: Strength

Days past without a sound or hint from whomever the man was or what his intentions were.

Things on the other end were just a quiet. The guild had found barely anything. Leads turned up cold and there was no witness or files on the case. Also, without an identity on their attacker, there wasn't anyway to get the reports on the incident. There was also the fact that the government had destroyed and covered up the entire thing. The man was a ghost. Not only that, but their only lead, Issac Silver, the notorious Silver Fox and former associate of the man in black, known as Jaedou, had escaped from his top-security cell and gone missing.

During everything, Lucy began to recover small fractions of her memory. Sadly, all were insignificant and couldn't help in their search, leading them back to square one. "We're getting nowhere!" Gray growled, plucking his buttons on the white shirt he wore in frustration.

"And I really want to kick his ass!" Natsu sulked with his head laid on the table.

"Don't worry, Natsu. We'll get him!" Erza encouraged, putting a heavy gauntlet on his shoulder, grimacing at Natsu's distorted expression.

"Maybe it's a good thing we haven't found him. I bet he realised how strong Fairy Tail was and ran for the hills." Lucy joined in, half-enthusiastic, half-something else. The smile on her lip settled into a straight line as she turned away, looking out into the dark night of the wintery sky. Natsu and everyone quieted, watching her sorrowfully. Until Natsu decided to do a somersault on top of the table and pick a fight with Gray. Gray lunged for the dragon slayer and the two went rolling in a heap of flying fists and kicks. Lucy watched them with amusement.

"Lively as ever, eh?" Erza commented mildly.

"Yeah," Lucy laughed. "I'm glad."

"After all this, we need to go for a picnic." Erza suggested.

"Yeah. Let's invite the whole guild this time." Lucy added, looking around the homey building.

Make-shift bed's scattered around on floors, tables and benches for those who wanted to stay. Many of those who did stay, slept in the Fairy Tail dorm. Spare rooms were made for those who lived outside the guild. Mages made regular trips in and out the guild; tracing leads, following inquiries or helping out with the general chores of the guild. Everyone took turns going out and completing emergency and immediate jobs. Many other wizards from guilds of Fairy Tail's allies came to visit and help out. Lucy was pretty amazed by the entire work force they had accumulated, and it was all for her.

Lucy went along with Erza for a while, helping Mira deliver rounds of tea, coffee and food for the working guild mates. They mindlessly chatted about nice places to go when the weather turns warmer. Maybe the cliffs? It had a great view of the ocean. Though, Lucy would have to make sure none of them idiotically falls of the edge. Who knows? A strong current like Magnolia's sea could drag you off to some random island somewhere. She could bake a cake! It had been a while since she last made one. They endlessly chatted and worked until Levy came galloping over.

"Lucy!" She called in her sweet little voice, coming up beside her.

"Hey Levy, want some tea?" Lucy asked, holding the last cup.

"Ah, no thanks." Levy rejected kindly. A passing hand plucked it from Lucy's hand and floated away. Cana downed it like a shot, rushing through guild members and calling out raged insults. "Wow, Cana's been sober for a few days now. I didn't think she'd be doing so well." Levy commented, genuinely surprised. Lucy, a little shocked too, nodded in agreement. Levy scooted in the closest empty booth and cleared an area out of all the scattered paper, books and folders and boxes of information. Lucy slid in next to her and looked inquisitively at the book in front of her.

It was a small hard-back edition book with a wrinkled spine revealing its long years of age and wear. The pages were yellow and gave the musty kind of smell Lucy loved in old books. Apparently, if you sniff a lot of books like that you can get high, like you were on drugs. The white italic writing had faded into a dull, chipped and fading grey on the wrinkled pages, making the title illegible, except for the writing at the bottom. Lucy read, cleaning off dust remaining on the book. "Written by Zeron Amire. That name rings a bell." Lucy noticed.

"Zeron Amire wrote fictional stories based on non-fiction events happening during his time of work." Levy added.

"So, what's so special about this one?" Lucy asked giving it a dull, uninterested stare.

"As it so happens," Levy began, swiping the book into her arms, protecting it from Lucy's cold stare. The stellar mage gave her a soft roll of her eyes. "This book, was written about twenty years ago. If we believe Silver's story..." Levy drifted, setting the book down in front of them.

"Then it will contain clues during the time people went missing." Lucy finished her off. "But I thought the public didn't know about it."

"Those who knew Zeron claimed him to have been a _very_ resourceful man." Levy slightly purred.

"But the government hid everything." Lucy protested.

"The government didn't realize this book contains clues relating to the crime." Levy countered again, her voice showing her growing irritation.

"But they have to have read it, right?" Lucy argued again.

"They just don't know how to read between the lines like we do!" Levy announced proudly opening the cover.

"But-" Lucy whimpered.

"Lucy!" Levy snapped, turning on her quickly. Lucy flinched, shutting her mouth closed. Levy sighed. "It's okay, I know you're worried, but finding him is a good thing. You don't want to be running from him forever, do you?" Levy softly reassured the girl, squeezing her hands tightly around Lucy's. Relinquishing her fight, Lucy gave up and nodded. With that, Lucy was handed a pair of wind reader glasses and began to read.

A few moments later, Lucy slipped of the glasses, setting them softly on the table. Levy held the book and continued flicking through. Slowly, Lucy lifted her body up out the booth. Leather creaked under her tight grip and the table moaned. Levy stopped and looked up. "Lu? What is it?" Levy asked, setting down the book, staring at the back of her golden head.

"The monster that l- lurks." Lucy's voice faltered, her shoulder shaking. Quickly levy drove back to the little book, remembering where she had seen it. She found it; Page 132.

"The monster that lurks does not hide in solitude, but stalks in the dark. For where there is darkness, there is a-" Levy recited slowly.

Suddenly Lucy slumped to the floor. Her hands cradled her head, as her body shook. She managed to push herself up onto her hands and knees. White teeth gritted down, fighting the pain in her head. "Natsu!" Levy called frantically across the guild. Lucy's arms drained of energy and she buckled under her weight.

Strong arm caught her before she face planted the floor, dragging her into a warm embrace from behind. Natsu leaned back against the back of the booth, holding Lucy up against him.

Finally, Lucy's body caved and relaxed, sinking into Natsu's strong chest. Sweat trickled down her face and breaths became hard to grasp with her racing heart beat.

Mira fetched a mug of coffee with milk, cream and two sugars, crouching down besides the pair. Using his body as support, Natsu pushed Lucy up to sit, holding her steady with his arms. Mira put the mug and gave her little sips that she could manage. Wendy had figured out a recipe for a drink to boost Lucy's energy and mixed it with her mostly milk coffee. Normally she would pass out after her headaches, but this helped keep her conscious.

Headaches came often when Lucy remembered something about her past. Natsu, Mira and sometimes Wendy or others, would help Lucy during and after each one. In turn, she told them everything she could remember. Until the headache completely subsided, Lucy couldn't tell them anything.

Lucy began to regain her energy and Natsu helped her up to a table, settling her in beside Levy. A worst than normal headache still throbbed in her head and a wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her. No matter how much Mira persuaded Lucy to drink the water, she refused. Just looking at it made her stomach churn. Water helped with her headache but she couldn't relieve herself that way this time. Not feeling as sick as she did.

"Natsu." Lucy grumbled, burying her head in between her arms.

"Yeah, what is it, Luce?" Natsu asked, innocently eager to help.

"You're too hot!" She snapped, a foot sending him flying across the guild. Lucy moaned and sank back into her arms on the table.

Happy flew cautiously up to Natsu as he crumbled out of the man-shaped pit in the wall. "You okay, Natsu?" Happy whined.

"I forgot how strong sick-Lucy is." Natsu groaned from the heap of bruised limbs on the floor.

"That was stupid of you, Natsu." Happy bluntly stated, earning an irritated growl from the Natsu pile on the floor. "Need a hand?" Happy changed to sympathetic, reaching him a paw of aid.

"Aye..." Natsu grumbled.

Levy sat with Lucy until she felt better and managed to give her some water with pain-killing effects from Wendy. Sadly, the poor air dragon slayer couldn't do anything about Lucy's headache other than create the water. Poryluscia paid a visit to investigate Lucy's headache on request. Apparently it was psychological, not physical. It's Lucy's brain's reaction of shock from the suppression of the memories surfacing.

"You feeling any better, Lucy?" Wendy asked with concern.

"Good enough." Luce sighed, finishing the glass. Emptied to the bottom, Lucy set it down on the table with a silencing clink. Team Natsu, Levy, Mira and Makarov sat around the table. They became the team of relaying Lucy's memories. Levy insisted too many people would be too much pressure and shooed away the rest of the guild.

"I was in a cell with another girl. She was a friend I knew from my father's business. Lilianne Honda. I heard she had gone missing a few days ago before I was taken. We promised to stick together, that we'd make it through but-" The hint of hot tears began to well in her eyes as her voice faltered. "She died." Quiet gasps echoed from the parts of the guild as they stared in shock and disgust.

"That matches Silver's story. Lilianne must have died a few days before you were chosen." Erza interpreted softly, weary of how to put her words.

Natsu sat close by close by, not saying anything, just there. Makarov gave Lucy a small, grateful nod and regathered the guild members, going back to work. Mira set off to brew more tea with Levy's, along with Juvia's assistance. Team Natsu dispersed, leaving just Natsu and Lucy.

Tears still sat in the corner of her eyes with Lucy willing them not to fall. Natsu calmly waited next to her. Dark eyes staring calmly forward.

Spontaneously, Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrist yanking her suddenly out of the booth. His grip was gentle but forceful. "NATSU!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise. Natsu didn't hesitate and continued moving, ignoring her. The tenderness of his unmoving grip from his warm hands pulled her all the way through the guild doors.

In the guild, everyone stood still, watching the door's shut close. "Lucy?" Wendy whimpered curiously. A soft, pale hand laid gently on her shoulder. Small blue eyes looked up to the silver-haired mage behind her, smiling reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Natsu knows what he's doing." Mira said softly, handing her a hot chocolate with whip cream, chocolate shavings and miniature marshmallows. Wendy cupped her hands around it gratefully, bringing it to her face. Hot, moist steam brushed up over her chilly cheeks.

"That idiot may be pretty stupid, but, he knows Lucy best." Gray mumbled reluctantly.

"Gray..." Juvia whined girlishly. "It's secret boy love!" She squealed going into a world of her own.

"Oi! Don't go making things up on your own." Gray snapped, obviously embarrassed. But, he didn't take back what he said.

"Gray's right." Erza spoke proudly, looking at the shut doors with confidence. "Natsu can handle Lucy better than any of us."

"Natsu! Natsu!" Lucy whined as she stumbled after the pink-haired boy. Freezing winter winds skated over her skin, cutting goosebumps up her arms and legs. Where the hell was he dragging her? His wide shoulders moved swiftly under his vest, fluttering violently in the winds. Pink hair waved and shook, blown back by the breeze. Dark eyes hidden ahead of her. Did they look mad? She couldn't tell. He moved forward with long, wide strides. Lucy had to take two steps to his one. He was moving so fast, so fast that she couldn't catch up. "NATSU!" she snapped.

Natsu came to an abrupt stop with Lucy almost slamming into the back of him. His grip dropped her wrist, his hand falling to his side. Those wide shoulders didn't turn to face her. Dark eyes didn't turn to look at her. He just stood there. Tingling still vibrated around the skin on her arm, his warmth lingering from his touch. It was like a bracelet of smoothness compared to her goosebumps jacket.

Suddenly, he turned. Lucy jumped in surprise, dropping her wrist. Big arms folded over his chest, and a pout sat on his sulking face. Dark eyes traced the cracks in the pavement. "...You don't need to be strong _all_ the time." He grumbled refusing to meet her eyes.

Lucy let out a gentle laugh, moving forward. "Natsu, don't be silly." Her hand reach out to touch his warm, strong arms, wrapping like a protective shell against the cold. Lucy knew better than to think Natsu was ever cold. As her fingers went to touch him, he took a step backwards, avoiding her touch. Hurt slammed into her face, knocking her breath out of her.

Natsu's big arms tensed, wrapping tighter over his chest. Hands clutched the fabric of his vest into his fists, almost tearing through his clothes as he held as tightly as he could. All he wanted to do was giver her a hug. A simple hug. She was his _best_ friends! However, it was _because_ she was his best friend that he couldn't.

"Natsu?" She whimpered. Brown eyes fluttered all over his face, looking desperately for an explanation. A flicker of realization jumped across her expression. "Natsu, I- I need to be strong, because if I don't, I- I-" Lucy stumbled, words slipping uncontrollably from her mouth. Her body shook, not from the cold, but the emotions. Emotions she had suppressed for so long were bubbling over the edge. Pale hands wrapped around her arms anxiously.

Suddenly, her knees buckled, making her legs give way weakly underneath her. Natsu's body involuntarily leaped out to her, catching her safely in his arms.

Lucy twisted out of his grip quickly, pushing him back. Brown eyes fell to the floor, looking at it like reflective glass, as if she was looking right into herself. "I remember. I remember being that _weak, little girl_. I couldn't do anything while people died. While _she_ died! Do you know what that's like Natsu?" Lucy stopped, her body slowing and her voice softening. "No...You've always been strong. Not just physical strength." Cold, chocolate eyes made their way up to Natsu's blank, upset, shocked face. "I admired that. I wished that I had you back then. But, I didn't." Lucy's soft voice turned sharp, turning colder than the winter air. "She died right in front of me. They- they all...died." Finally, the painful, unwilling tears began to pour from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. As they dropped onto her hands, Lucy looked at them with alienation.

Big arms quickly wrapped around her, dragging her in as close as he could. "You're strong, Lucy. So...It's okay to cry. It's okay." He whispered, burying his head into her neck. Tears flooded faster down her cheeks, her heart squeezing them out. Slowly, her arms wrapped around Natsu gripping onto him with all her strength, her small face burying into his warm chest. Finally, she let it all out; the pain, the sadness and sorrow...everything. All she could do was hold Natsu. Hold him, and let all the tears in her heart fall.

For a long while, Lucy cried. Eventually, she calmed and began to fully recite everything in her dream, every detail.

"Natsu," Lucy whimpered softly, Natsu's arm sat gently around Lucy's shoulder, his warm protecting her against the winter's nipping cold. Dark eyes focused vaguely on the glowing city of Magnolia. Brown eyes wandered over the darkness, thinking of the bright orb in the sky.

"Yeah Luce?" Natsu replied, taking a deep, freezing breath in.

"Can we go somewhere?" Lucy asked calmly.

"Yeah, sure." Natsu replied, getting up slow enough for Lucy to move politely off him. "I'll go get Happ-"

"No." Lucy spoke sharply, letting it fade softly. Big brown eyes looked into his earnestly. Pink botches were fading around her eyes as the winter air worked to reduce the puffy inflammation. "Just you and me?" she asked. Onyx eyes stared at her for a long moment, scanning from her eyes to her chin. Natsu noticed Lucy's nose turning a little red at the cold like Rudolph the reindeer. That thought was a little amusing.

"Fine," Natsu agreed with a weak shake of his head. "Better wear this." he decided, pulling the white scaled scarf from around his broad shoulders. Silk fabric settled softly against her small neck, instantly bathing her in warmth. A scent of something burning dispersed to her nose. It was familiar and calming, like Natsu was right beside her. "There!" Natsu smiled with his goofy grin, his eyes showing the childish and simple-minded happiness that was Natsu. An unnoticed tensed knot inside her unraveled, letting relief flood through her. Natsu was strange that way. He always knew just how to reach her, even when she didn't know she needed saving.

"Thanks, Natsu!" She smiled a big goofy grin. There it was; that ease to smile around him.

It seemed that it wasn't only his smile that could relieve people. She didn't know how important and special her smile was. Especially to Natsu. They both were naive when it came to knowing how much they truly needed each other.

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**Awh! Natsu~ how adorable :'(**

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	8. Trap Door

**A Week-long holiday, oh the joy. It's strange when you're in your first years of school and think a week is nothing for a holiday/ vacation. When you get to your last year and have loads of exams to prepare for like me, a week it bliss. I should really be revising, but I prefer to upload and write stories like this. Aha~ I'm such a bad student _.**

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Shadows  
Chapter 8: Trap Door

"Lucy~" Natsu moaned, following behind sluggishly. "We've been walking for _ages_!"

"Stop complaining, Natsu! We haven't walked_ that_ far." Lucy grumbled, her attention focused elsewhere.

In truth, they had been walking a long time. Lucy lead the way, stopping quietly at every junction. At a seconds notice, she would randomly dart in one direction. It was like a wild goose chase, as far as Natsu was concerned. The poor dragon slayer was just able to keep up. It was difficult to follow her random movements.

It wasn't like he could loose her anyway. That scent of sweet strawberry and soothing vanilla was engraved in his mind. Even with the faintest scent, Natsu could pick it out of a thousand others.

Lucy refused to tell him where they were going. So, in order to keep an eye on her, he had to keep up.

"Lucy, where are we going?" Natsu moaned again, catching up to her at a T-junction. They were in front of a closed bakery. It's hanging sign moaned in the cold breeze, looking rather spooky with all it's lights out.

"You'll know when we get there!" Lucy growled impatiently, taking a second of her time to glare at him over her shoulder. Natsu's mouth snapped tightly into a pout as his big arms crossed over his chest. Lucy couldn't help but find it absoloutely adorable.

A wave of calm energy flooded her body, sooth the anxious nerves fluttering in her stomach. For a little while, she let her world slow, into the moment. With a gentle shake of her head, Lucy sighed and turned on her heals to face Natsu with a cool level stare. Small hands reach out confidently, placing themselves on his warm forearms. "Look, Natsu, I appreciate you coming with me and everything..." she began.

"Well, you need someone to protect you right?" The dragon slayer mumbled, a small pink blush creeping up on his cheeks.

"Yup." Lucy agreed, a smile lighting up on her lips.

"HEY! MOVE OUT THE WAY!" A voice bellowed, followed by the thundering rattle of wheels racing across cobblestone.

"WHOA!" Natsu gasped, quickly pushing his hand against the side street, pinning Lucy back with his free hand. Clattering wheels rocketed past, the carriage just missing them by a mere few inches. Rattling wood and harsh shouting faded as the carriage drove furiously down the street.

For a while, Natsu and Lucy stayed still, catching their breaths. Natsu finally let out a deep sigh, dragging his free hand down the length of his face. "That was close..." he breathed reluctantly.

"Natsu..." Lucy's voice rumbled beside him. Goosebumps prickled up his arm, freezing him from the inside out. A dark aura burned near him, radiating malice. Uh- Oh. Raven eyes daringly and dreadfully traced along his arm. He held it straight at shoulder length, reaching Lucy easily. His hand spread out, pinning her against the wall. That wasn't the problem. The issue lied with his hand. It was on her chest. Natsu's whole body froze in surprise, dark eyes staring at his hand in disbelief. His throat scratched together like sand paper as he tried to swallow the dread in his throat.

Since he saw it coming, he thought it wouldn't hurt as much. Physics didn't work that way. Natsu managed to peel himself from the man-shaped dint in the brick wall. "Sorry Luce!" Natsu sheepishly apologized, feeling oddly 2-D.

Lucy huffed a reply, turning her back and sticking out her chin. Brown orbs moved on to search about the street. The next turn was unknown to her. It seemed her fragmented memory stopped at the junction. But where next? An old butcher's, bakery and abandoned smith were her only clues.

Brown eyes watched the creaking sign baring a black anvil, swing with a rusting creak. Metal jangled in the wind of an open window. The smithy seemed old, untouched and out of work. There was no 'For-Sale' sign, so Lucy assumed it was an owned and neglected property. Eyes found themselves peering into the building. She hadn't really noticed it there before. She had lived in Magnolia long enough to know the area. A strange pressure on her eyes tried to make them look away. Lucy ignore it and swept closer to the door. The strain began to prickle at her body, like she was trying to push through some kind of malleable and thick skinned bubble.

Natsu scrambled up behind her, rubbing his sore cheek that glowed with a red food-mark. "Luce, what are you-"

"Shush!" Lucy hushed him, pressing a finger to his lips. she slipped her hand around the iron door handle. She tried it, leaning her weight quietly against the door. It let out a creak in protest and refused to budge. Lucy tried two more times but still couldn't move it.

"Damn." Lucy growled. "Looks like we need the key."

"Breaking and entering, huh?" A familiar voice grumbled behind them. Stiff ice jittered up the pair's spine, freezing them in shock. Slowly, their heads creaked around. Stood behind them, was no one other than a black-haired, half-naked, ice mage with his hands on his hips. A smug smile pulled his lips from one ear to the other; Proud for catching the pair red-handed.

"Busted." Natsu grumbled, giving a gruff sigh.

"You're a terrible look out, Natsu!" Lucy grumbled.

"Hey!" Natsu snapped. Gray shook his head at the pair, pushing passed the squabbling couple and examining the locked door.

"Ice make..." Gray whispered, pushing a fist into his palm.

"Natsu!" Lucy whined in frustration.

"Lucy!" Natsu mimicked.

"Don't copy me!" Lucy snapped.

"Well, It's your fault we got caught!" Natsu retorted.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief. "_You_ were the poor look out!"

"Lucy!" Natsu growled.

"Natsu!" Lucy copied.

"Don't cop-" Natsu rebuted.

A loud, ancient creak cut through their bickering with a grimacing screech. Both pairs of eyes darted back to Gray. The ice mage stood next to the doorway, assessing it with satisfaction. "You needed a key right?" Gray spoke, turning to face the astonished pair. An obnoxious grin stretched his face as he spun the ice sculpture on his finer. A key of ice, that coincidentally happened to fit the lock.

Lucy gave him a sly smile, shaking her head. Natsu dropped his jaw, scowling at Gray.

"I could have done that too." Natsu mumbled, pushing past him.

"In your dreams, matchstick." Gray retorted.

"Oh yeah, twinkle toes, want me to melt that little key of yours?" Natsu growled, stepping up to the challenge.

Lucy watch them with pity. A small chuckle escape her lips, sliding past the squabbling boys. Lucy left them going at each other in the doorway and moved into the darkened room.

A cold draft rattled a collection of steel tools hanging off hooks in the ceiling. Grey coal stones sagged and crumbled throat the rusted black pit. The dark outlines of large rusted anvils were barely visible. Wooden panels on the ceiling matched the floors, standing sturdy, collecting dust and housing a collection of cobwebs.

"Wow." Lucy whispered, finding herself strangely marveled at it's unique aging. It felt like it had so much character. Lucy could smell the combustion and steel that must have lingered from its days of use. Even so, Lucy felt something was odd about the place. At first, she could only conjure up one word- Fake.

"This place is creepy..." Natsu muttered, looking up at the empty ceiling.

"I don't like this place either." Gray agreed. For a second, they both were calm. One second later, and their eyes snapped into a glaring match. Lucy sighed, she had given up hope for the two of them long ago.

Moving around them, Lucy shuffled her way passed the metal instruments, racked up against the wall and took a look at the back. Plain iron horse shoes hung on hooks on the wall, all different sizes, shapes and widths. "How strange..." Lucy mumbled, picking up an iron horse shoe from the wall. Natsu and Gray's chattering faded into the background; something about how it was a good idea they didn't bring Gajeel.

Hands flipped the metal over and over in her hands like dough. Lucy picked up another shoe of the wall, weighing them in either of her hands she was a balancing scale. Then she put down the second shoe examining the first again.

It looked like the standard shoe but, it felt a little lighter than the rest, not to mention it was rounder, which seemed like it should be significant somehow.

"Hey, look at this." Gray's voice called across the room, breaking her train of thought.

The other two mages circled up to the ice mage, crouched low to the floor. Dark eyes studied the foot of a heavy-looking anvil in the near-center of the room.

"What is it?" Lucy asked, tracing Gray's gaze. "A hand print?" There was a four-fingered hand shape leaving a fresh print on the thick layer of dust covering the edges of the anvils.

"Look." Gray commanded, swiping a handful of dust of the anvil.

"The hand print!" Lucy exclaimed in slight horror as Gray distorted its shape.

"Just look." Gray replied. Brown orbs traced his eyes. Dust clumps gently floated to the floor like little clouds, sinking low in the musty air.

Suddenly, the little cloud got swept into a current and dragged fast down. A wind flow made them disappear through a gap in the panel of the floor. Gone.

"A draft?" Lucy muttered. To Natsu's surprise, her body collapsed against the wood, her cheek laying against the crack.

"Luce!" Natsu gasped.

"Shush!" Lucy hushed him sharply. Natsu sighed in relief; That surprised him. "Gray, you're right!" Lucy spontaneously exclaimed, launching back up to sit. "Quick, move that anvil!" She commanded, pushing Natsu forward.

"Why is it I'm only useful to you when its for physical labor!" Natsu grumbled, glimpsing Lucy a scowl. Lucy ignored him. It took both Natsu and Gray to shift the weight of the heavy lump of iron from its place.

As soon as it was out the way, Lucy dived straight in. It was unnoticeable to a unaware eye, but there were gaps, a little larger than the gaps in the wooden slacks, marking out a square shape in the floor.

"It's a trap door." Gray evaluated, crouching down next to Lucy. A hand raked back through his messy black hair as he studied the carved shape. "What's that?"

An oval shape indented the wooden floor. "Look's like a key shape, a lock maybe?" Lucy theorized.

"Right..." Natsu mumbled ,stroking his chin thoughtfully. Dark eyes glimpsed around the room. Finally, he sighed and turned back to the other two. "Let's break it open." Natsu declared, igniting his fist with destructive power.

Water gushed over his head, drowning his entire body from head to toe. Smoke hissed from his fist as his flame died pathetically. Natsu's body froze for a long moment of delayed shock. "LUCY!" he snapped, turning quickly on his heels. "Huh? Happy?" Natsu exclaimed. An empty bucket sat in the palms of the floating blue fur ball with ice-white wings.

"Aye sir!" Happy cheerfully smiled. "Sorry about that Natsu, it wasn't my idea." The kitten's expression turned sympathetic.

"This whole place is lined with _gun powder_, Natsu!" A voice grumbled behind him. In one second flat, a heavy metal gauntlet crashed against his head.

"Erza!" Lucy exclaimed. The towering, armored, red-head towered over the pink haired boy with a scowl. Slowly, the dark freezing glare set on the other two. Lucy heard Gray gulp behind her, feeling every muscle in his body tense.

"You two _disappeared_! Lucy we can't protect you when you go off like this!" Erza scolded, her fury set on the blonde.

"Urgh...so...sorry...Erza." Lucy apologized, her gaze incapable of rising past her feet.

"And _you_." Erza twisted her glare onto the ice mage. "_You_ were sent to find the two of them and never came back!" The blazing reequip mage growled.

As Erza continued to rant at Gray and Natsu, both laid crippled in pain on the floor, Lucy's attention slipped back to the mysterious key hole. Fingers traced the circle in the ground. The ridged feel of the bottom of the shape bubbled against her fingers. Lucy's consciousness fell back into a simple world of thought. She found the odd horseshoe she picked up earlier, folding over and over in her palms. She ought to put it back. After contemplating it, Lucy gave up and stood to take it back.

A loose nail caught her foot as she rose sending her staggering reached out to catch the nearest table, letting the horseshoe fly free from her hands. Somehow, she managed to stabilize herself, just as the horse shoe landed with a ringing clatter against the floor. Lucy recovered and quickly moved to retrieve it.

It rolled and came to a rattling stop above the trapped lock door, half tipping into the circle hole.

Lucy weaved around Erza and Gray, still in the middle of a lecture, and crouched down beside it. Lucy's hand reached to pick it up, but came to an abrupt stop.

The horseshoe?...It was lighter than the others, Lucy thought, remembering weighing it on her palm. It was also shaped a little differently. Lucy gasped in realization as the thought crashed into her mind. The shape of the horseshoe; it was rounder!

Natsu perked up, dark eyes flickering back to the door. Lucy was crouched onto the wood, fiddling frivolously with the handle. Brown eyes were gleaming with excitement. "Luce?" Natsu muttered, rubbing his sore head. The dragon slayer got to his feet and moved towards her and asked "Whatcha' doin'?"

Lucy's eyes flickered up, taking him all in, in one moment. Staring at him with such overwhelming emotion made his face burn a crimson red. When they moved away, Natsu felt a strange sense of relief. Sometimes Lucy could be really intense. It wasn't until after her eyes released him that he realized how his heart was frantically beating inside his chest. It was probably left over fright from Erza.

"I figured it out. I've got the key!" Lucy exclaimed. In her hand, she held a small, circular horseshoe. "Lucy that won't fit-" Happy popped up beside them. Apparently, he was wrong; It did fit. Perfectly actually. It filled half the lock, sitting snugly into the oval shape.

By now, Erza had stopped shouting and moved back to Lucy, followed by a sullen Gray. Lucy's finger pushed against the iron metal shoes. It began to move smoothly against the wood, rotating smoothly around the circle. It moved painstakingly slow, building tension in the atmosphere every second. Finally, it completed one full turn.

Suddenly, a loud gasp of air whistled out the cracks of the door. A screeching clang rattled the air, flying the door open with a bang. Lucy squealed in surprise, almost being crushed by the swinging door. Natsu managed to drag her out the way just in time.

"That was close..." Lucy wheezed weekly, collapsing against Natsu's arm.

"Yup." Natsu panted next to her, looking at the door inches from his toes. "Too close..."

"I don't think I wanna go down there." Happy whined, peering into the open trap door.

Darkness echoed into the chilling pit. Cold, whistling fog poured up of the edge like a cauldron. Silence.

"Maybe we should just go back..." Happy whined, tugging Natsu's scarf pleadingly. Onyx eyes jumped to Happy, to Lucy, to the gap and back to Lucy, and returned to the chamber again. Sandals picked himself up, moving over to the dark hole in the middle of the smithy.

For a painstaking long moment, Natsu stood looking deeply into the hole, his eyebrows knitted together in consideration. And then...

He jumped.

* * *

**Find out what happens next Monday!**

* * *

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**-A-ccentric**


	9. Jump

Shadows  
Chapter 9: Jump

Everyone exclaimed in shock as the slayer was swallowed up into the darkness. Their surprise was shattered by the loud crashing and yelps from the hole. Before she knew it, Lucy was plundering forward towards the hole. She didn't even have time to make a decision as her feet rushed in, plunging her into the dark.

"Natsu?" Lucy called. She was surprised to find solid, stone beneath her feet, a few feet down from the gap. She walked along it, hearing her footsteps smothered by a heavy silence. A sandal took a step forward, only to find, that her stone path had come to an end. She startled in surprise as there was no more ground underneath her. Lucy's squeal cut off sharply as her legs jerked at the stone meeting her foot. Her body still moved forward with the moment, hitting hard against stone that slowly descended down. Stairs? Lucy didn't have time to contemplate it as she raced down the steps, practically flying over them.

Suddenly, the rock turned soft under foot, radiating a familiar warmth. A groan echoed hauntingly beneath her. Lucy screamed in fright and went tumbling forwards. Her beautiful, youthful skin met a face full of concrete.

"Urgh." Lucy grumbled, sitting up sorely.

"LUCY!" Voices screamed from above. It was dark, darker than Lucy imagined. Light from the streets that lit the dark smithy were engulfed in black. There was no light to guide her.

Realization hit her like a slap in the face. She remembered why she leapt blindly into the hole in first place. "NATSU!" Lucy called. It went quiet for a long moment until Lucy heard a loud grumble at her feet. "NATSU!" Lucy exclaimed, shuffling forward. Grit, cold wet and painful dug into the skin of her knees as she crawled across it's rubble stone floor.

Warmth caught her by the ankle and ripped her backwards. It's burning heat wrapped around her shoulder. In blind panic, Lucy threw her foot forwards. Something soft with an underlying strength met it and was knocked backwards.

Lucy froze, her eyes adjusted, making out the faint shape of the figure on the floor. It was familiar. Her foot had felt that face many times before. "Natsu?" Lucy whispered. "Natsu!"

"Aye..." Natsu's voice groaned.

Hesitantly, Lucy reached out in to the darkness. When she felt his strong, warm build on her palms, she let out a small, involuntary squeak, pulling her hands back. "Natsu?...Are you okay?" Lucy whispered.

"I've had better days." Natsu replied, his hands reaching blindly into the darkness until he found Lucy's. Strong hands slip over hers, lacing around her wrists. "Found you!" Lucy squealed against as she was dragged into Natsu's arms, wrapping around her back.

"Natsu what are you-" Lucy squawked.

"Shush." Natsu whispered. Soft lips shut tight with a pout. Brown eyes scowled in the dark at the dragon slayer. "Wow. You actually listened to me." Natsu's voice chuckled, sounding genuine surprise.

"WHAT?" Lucy exclaimed, breaking free of his arms. "Urgh. If I could see, I would slap you so hard right now!"

"Aha, Sorry Luce." Natsu laughed, acting a little amused and a little distracted. Goosebumps prickled up his warmly tanned arms. It was the murderous energy, Natsu could feel practically pouring out of the girl. "Uh-huh...Lucy?"

"_Natsu_!" Lucy growled. An overwhelming urge to duck pushed his body back against the ground. It was just in time. The breath of air that whipped his face just missed. Not at all too soon later, the crack of a leather whip echoed in the darkness. "_Natsu..._" Lucy growled again.

"Ah, Luce!" Natsu gulped. "I- I was kidding..." Open palms raised in the air in surrender. Thunderous whip-cracking continued as Lucy obviously wasn't feeling merciful.

Gray, Erza and Happy slowly moved down the steps, weary of their footing and balance. "Natsu! Lucy!" Happy yelled. Blue paws clung to the steel edges of Erza's shoulder plates as a guide through the darkness. "Where are they?" Happy sheepishly mumbled.

"Dunno." Gray bluntly replied, somewhere behind them. "Natsu, the idiot, just carelessly jumped in and obviously fell down the stairs. Then Lucy went running down after him. I think from the screams we heard, she found him." Gray ranted angrily, throwing around stiff hand gestures. "Jeez. Those two..."

"But...but what if someone caught them?" Happy wailed. "Hey, Erza, Erza, what if Lucy and Natsu have been ambushed. I heard yelling earlier."

"The lock on the trap door was rusted. it doesn't look like it's been used in a while" Erza replied rather smoothly.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Happy cried. A large grunt growled behind them as Gray charged passed Erza on the narrow stairs, marching straight down, stomping his feet as he went.

"Lucy, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!" Natsu's voice panicked.

"Natsu?" Erza called out.

"Huh? Erza?" Natsu replied distantly. Faint muttering followed, getting louder and louder the closer they descended.

"NATSU!" Lucy's voice snapped. She sounded furious.

"Lucy! Shush!" Natsu hushed her in frustration.

"Don't shush me! Natsu get-" Lucy bickered, followed by a loud muffled noise.

"Natsu?" Gray called out again, only a little further ahead than Happy and Erza.

"Here!" Natsu called. A whistling hiss escaped into the air. Orange glowing light beamed like a torch in the constricting darkness. Natsu's fist flickered like a candle, lighting the narrow tunnel walls with an illuminating amber. Black stone walls were covered in dying, brown moss, leaking tears of water, or so it seemed, across its damp stone.

The tunnels were, as said, surprisingly narrow. Both side walls could be reached with extended arms. Contradictory to the width of the walls, was the height of the ceiling. It reached to about four times the height of Natsu and Gray like the roof of a church.

"Natsu! What are you doing?" Erza exclaimed. Natsu's strong, muscular body crouched over the body of the struggling blonde, pinning her down. Lucy squeaked and squawked, trying to claw the dragon slayer's hand off her mouth while he straddled her waist.

"Eh?" Natsu questioned, pink eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Dark eyes stared at Erza for a long time. They turned to carefully study himself, Lucy, and their situation. As he turned back to Erza, a hot pink blush was heating up on his cheeks as it dawned on him. "Erm...It's not what it looks like, Erza." Natsu gulped, laughing nervously. "I swear!"

Metal mercilessly collided against his face. Natsu's body was sent flying backwards into the nearest stone wall with shocking force. Darkness quickly swallowed up the remained glow of the flame. A small 'WHOOMPH' sound echoed as Natsu's body trickled down into a heap of aching skin and bones.

Lucy took a large, deep gasp, picking herself up off the floor. Erza reached out a gauntlet to help her and she took it gratefully.

"Oi, get up!" Gray grumbled. It was hard to see but Gray could just make out the outline of the pink hair spiking in random directions.

"You wanna go, ice princess?" Natsu's body whirled around, instantly stepping up the ice wizard. Apparently Erza's punch wasn't hard enough.

"Are you fighting...AGAIN?" Erza's voice growled threateningly. The temperature seemed to drop a little more. Natsu's throat tightened as he tried to gulp back his fear.

"Aha, sorry Erza." Natsu replied innocently.

"Natsu, do something about this light." Erza commanded. That was right. They were still puzzled with the problem of light. Lucy's brown eyes had somewhat adjusted to the darkness easier than she had planned. Faint outline of people and walls could be seen as dark shades, separated from blackness. The blurred shape of the walls seemed a harsh sheen of grey. It was strange, the walls of all things, seemed oddly familiar. Before Lucy could continue to probably over think, a sizzle snapped her from her thoughts.

Golden flames lit up around Natsu's fist. Illuminating light poured out over the walls and burnt away their familiarity. Maybe she was just seeing things.

The walls looked old and dreary, leaning in a curve over their head. Wet drops of foul-smelling water dripped down the collar of her shirt, sending an icy vibration through her bones. Moss squeezed and cosied its way into the crumbling concrete in between the large mismatched stone bricking around them. Stone-covered steps lead up to the little trap door at a dangerously steep incline. It looked monstrously high and small, looking up at it. Lucy wondered how far she'd fallen before she hit the stairs and stripped over Natsu. It looks like she must have missed at least ten. The pink-haired devil seemed to be thinking the same thing. Onyx eyes, glittering a golden-tar under torch light, gazed thoughtfully up at the trap door. "It's pretty high, isn't it?" Lucy moved next to him, following his line of sight. "We must be deep underground."

"Yeah, I suppose." Natsu half-heartedly replied. His absent-minded attention followed as he called over the blue feline. His gaze stayed rooted at the square patch of dim light in the ceiling as the flying cat sprung up beside him, following his gaze up.

"Yeah, Natsu?" Happy asked, looking back between the gap and Natsu, trying to make some kind of connection.

"Isn't this normally the part where the trap door shuts behind us?" Natsu asked. Happy let out a squeal of surprise and fear.

"This isn't like some horror movie, you two." Lucy moaned.

"Only idiots would-" Gray began. A loud bang cut him off. All eyes jumped instantly back up to where the trap door should have been. Darkness had swallowed the patch of light which was the door. Lucy shrieked darting back up the stairs in panic. Her feet hit the steps at a sprint, shooting her upwards.

"Lucy, you shouldn't-" Happy tried to warn her, but gave up as she reached halfway.

A rumble growled from under her feet as the hard stone steps suddenly smoothed out under her feet. The ground evened-out into a damp, slippery slope. One she couldn't possibly climb. Lucy screamed as she went tumbling backwards, rolling rapidly down. Lucy reacted quickly, catching a key from her belt as she continued to fall, whirling it in the air above her head. "Gate...of...the...ram...I...open...thee!" Lucy stumbled, letting light shimmer at the end of the golden key. "Aries!"

Gold dust sprinkled the air, collecting into form. It merged into Aries, dressed in her pink and white wool, seconds before Lucy landed.

Soft, fluffy cotton clouds surrounded her like a comforting blanket, breaking her fall. A sigh of relief sailed out of her lips as she landed safely.

"Nice timing, fluffy" Happy winked, giving a thumbs up to the shaking lamb.

"I'm sorry." Aries whimpered.

"It's okay, thanks Aries." Lucy gave her a grateful nod, standing up on her faintly weak legs.

"I'm sorry." She whined again, disintegrating into golden particles that faded into the air.

"You alright Luce?" Natsu chuckled with half concern.

"Yeah, fine." she grumbled bitterly. She was more irritated at the stairs than him. "The stairs suddenly flattened."

"It's just like a horror movie!" Happy exclaimed with gruesome delight in a tangle of fear. Natsu laughed at the cat, showing a similar twinkle in his eye. The laughter died as his face went from the feline to Lucy's.

Brown eyes glanced around nervously, sizing up every brick and slab of concrete that could possible come alive and try to hurt her. A warm hand set on Lucy's stiff shoulders, making her flinch. A small, far-away pang echoed distantly in the dragon slayer's heart, like a pin prick to the chest. It distracted him a little, making him awkwardly pause with Lucy's big brown eyes staring up at him curiously.

"Don't worry, Luce. There's nothing to be afraid of." Natsu tried cheering her up, beaming with his full-of-confidence smile.

Just as a little tension ceased from her muscles, a cold blast of air raced through the tunnels. Natsu's flame jumped, flickered and died with a whistle. Quickly, Natsu re-lit it, lighting everything up again. Tension coiled up again in Lucy's jaw, her anxious eyes set on him. Natsu gave a sheepish grin, chuckling nervously.

"Let's go!" Erza's voice instructed. Erza stood at the edge of the light beginning to creep into the darkness. Lucy didn't say anything. She just listened and walked closer to the equip mage. _'Well that went well_' Natsu thought bitterly, '_Nice job reassuring her, Natsu!_'

Natsu sulked behind Lucy, keeping up pace so that light still shone like a little orb around them.

After a short while of walking down the corridor, Lucy wandered closer to the dragon slayer, keeping a cautious eye on the flame gloved around his fingers. Although it danced gracefully, it would be dangerous if she got too close. Natsu, Lucy thought sadly, could be like that. The pink-haired boy's brilliance was the same as his flames. They were strong and powerful, destructive and unpredictable, but also graceful and kind. They could protect what they loved and burn anything that would threaten that. What would happen if the thing that threatened him, was something he loved?

"There's something up ahead!" Erza called distantly, as if she were a few feet way. In fact, she was stood only a couple of metes in front of the blond. It seemed it was Lucy who was far way, lost in deep thought in her echoing heart. Lucy left her numbing thoughts for later, catching up to the scarlet-haired mage. Erza had already quickened her pace. Lucy had to double hers to keep up.

"What is this place?" Gray grumbled. Black iron bars began to protrude out of the wall. Stone cave-like cells swallowed in darkness lurked on the other side. They were small, no windows or doors. Gray wondered how they even opened them. At the corner, Gray spotted his answer. A small, two-squared foot, dog gate built into the edges of the bars. You'd have to crawl to get through. Low, claw marks scratched into the concrete, shimmering in the light, a silvery-grey.

"That must be how they forced people in and out of the cells." Erza added, looking at the gate coldly. Dark eyes caught the shallow marks and she hesitated. A small unnecessary breath escaped her lips, as she stood and gazed ahead into the darkness. Gray wondered if it brought up any unwanted memories of her childhood in the tower of heaven. He stopped, realizing it was not the time for the ice mage to be picking at Erza's thoughts. Gray stood up from his crouch by the door and moved over to the reequip mage. Natsu took a quick glance at the gate and so did Happy. Lucy didn't even turn. She carried on, head straight as if she knew what was there and didn't dare look. They all moved on after her.

They passed cave after cave, each with their own set of iron bars. Rust had began to spiderweb itself around the edges, crisping black into brown. _Lucy might have stayed in one of those cells_, Natsu thought, _she could have lived in that darkness_. The thought made him shudder. Raven eyes found themselves drawn to the plain, stiff face of the celestial mage. Brown eyes pointed straight into the darkness ahead like there was nowhere else to look. h

"This is getting pretty creepy now." Happy whined, hovering close to Natsu's side. Natsu nodded shortly, glancing around the empty cages.

The rows and rows of cells came to a stop. Dark stone walls washed up again in the darkness. "This one's open." Erza stated, swinging open the normal-sized gate. It let out a horrible creak as it swung open. Natsu felt Lucy's body completely stiffen. Jet eyes jumped towards her. Brown eyes were fixed on the open door, staring with a boiling intensity that could probably burn holes right through it. "Luce? You alright?" Natsu called, waving a hand in front of her face.

Lucy snapped back into reality. The horrible screech of the gate had frozen her body and paused her mind, letting the sound drag infinitely in her head. The sound seemed to vibrate through her bones like the chime of a clock tower.

Somewhere in the far away world, Natsu's voice called to her. Lucy found herself blundering back into life. Big onyx eyes stared at her inquisitively. She could see him balanced between concern and curiosity, unsure of which way to turn. Before he decided either, Lucy gave him a reassuring smile, settling his temped concern. The smile seemed genuine enough, but her heart wasn't in it. Natsu seemed to have noticed it too, but he decided to play along. It was more than comforting to the celestial mage. It was so strange how Natsu always understood her on some deeper level. Then again, there were days she doubted that. Like the day she needed to go shopping and Natsu and Happy complained all day until she took them home. He was the one who wanted to come along. _Really, they were just like a bunch of kids_, Lucy thought. A gentle chuckle slipped from her lips when she realized how mildly amusing it was. Dark eyes caught it and his lips pulled into a smile, relieving him of a little bit of tension twisted up in his muscles.

"What's so funny?" Natsu asked, nudging her gently in the arm. Lucy just shook her head softly. Big brown eyes turned to him and stared. For a long moment, her orbs held his, igniting the pulse of electricity that shot through his veins. It wasn't that he felt uncomfortable, but something just wanted more. It wanted to be be closer to her, like an invisable rope pulling them together.

Before Natsu even finished contemplating the unfamiliar feelings, Lucy smiled and said "Nothing." turning back to Erza. Natsu shook off the remaining pins and needles sensation prickling in his hands, legs and chest, moving up to join them.

"This cell's different from the rest." Erza grumbled thoughtfully, looking in the dimly lit room. Natsu moved in with his flaming fists, brightening up the place.Although,_ 'Brightening up the place'_ wasn't the right phrase.

Dreary, empty walls glittered with a cold, slimy membrane. Chains attatched a small bed to the back wall. A metal toilet and sink fixed on the edge, discolored with limescale and rust. White sheets layed neatly on a thin, spongey materess with soft, fluffy pillows. It looked, in Erza's opinion, strangely nice for a cell. It was especially true when comparing it to the cells they already passed. The others were barren and small, this one was a little bigger with a few extra essentials.

"It looks, in compariosn to the others, better." Gray stated, taking the words right out of the equip mage's mind. His voice sounded twisted and unsure, unable to find the right words he needed.

"I wouldn't say better." Natsu grumbled, scrunching up his sensitive nose.

"The whole place isn't very nice at all." Happy added unnecessarily.

"This kind of cell is better than the other ones they have." Erza gestured back down the corridoor. "It must have held someone of higher.._.quality._" Erza grimaced, finding difficulty in expressing her words too. In fact, she couldn't find any words to pin point exactly what she was trying to say.

"I don't think you can describe a person in terms of quality." Gray muttered sourly, examining the space between the bed and the cell bars.

"Kidnappers probably don't care." Erza bluntly remarked, shading her eyes away behind a veil of red. Cells of the such, brought up too many unwanted memories.

"Who then, would be more important than the rest?" Happy asked aloud, hiding somewhere near Natsu's shoulders.

"It was mine." Lucy said.

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**Find out what Lucy means next Monday, on the 24th of February! Also, read for the return of a very unwelcome character.**

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	10. Caged Part 1

Shadows  
Chapter 10: Caged Part 1

"It was mine." Lucy spoke for the first time. She hadn't really said anything until then, stepping out into a patch of golden light near a wall. Everyone turned to face her. "Well, I think it was." Lucy added after a thought. Surprise rested subtly on her face, as if she hadn't meant to say anything at all. It died a moment later. Instead, her eye brows knitted together with a strained expression, as if she was trying to remember something she'd forgotten. Maybe she was.

Moonlight streamed in through the small barred window high up the wall near the ceiling. It's cold, soft light ran over her palms. The flickering images of her nightmare crossed her eyes in a blur. Lucy let out a shocked gasp, staggering back a step away from the door. "Luce, you alright?" Natsu whirled up beside her. His glowing fist pushed back behind him as he straightened his arm to keep the fire a safe distance away from her.

"Yeah...fine." Lucy dismissed him with a flick of her hand. A small shimmer of irritation and hurt leapt over his expression but lost against his concern. "Just thought I saw something." Lucy tried to ignore his eyes burning into her. Brown eyes turned towards Erza for relief. Still, the red-headed picked the obvious question.

"Why do you think this cell was yours?" She asked. Either way, Lucy wasn't escaping from that one. Lucy let out a last frustrated growl, dropping her head into her palms. Her fingers raked through her hair with irritation.

"I don't know." Lucy whined. "It just look familiar, like I saw it in a dream somewhere." Lucy sighed and dropped her hands. She looked up to the sympathetic stares around her, ignoring the dull throbbing at the back of her skull.

"That dream could have been a recalled fragment of your memory." Erza said.

"Probably." Lucy grumbled tiresomely, as she lent back against the wall behind her. Something dug into her back, pressing uncomfortably between her shoulder blades. "What the-" Lucy growled, turning to investigate. A black iron ring protruded from the wall. Brown eyes glared at it curiously. A chain of matching metal links clung onto it. Her eyes traced down its tail, following it across the floor like a slithering snake.

A sharp gasp caught on the lump of her throat as Lucy tumbled backwards.

"Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed in shock, catching her as she fell. Light was swallowed by the darkness as the flame distinguished. "Lucy are you-" Natsu tried but cut himself short at the small, snuffed whimper squeezing out of the girl's mouth.

Suddenly, she shoved him back, clawing frantically at her arms and legs.

"Natsu? Lucy? Where are you?" Gray called out, moving wearily in the darkness. Light blazed once again in the corner of the room like a beacon. It dimmed as Gray and Erza came running over. Lucy scratched and shoved at her flapping wrists and ankles. Blind terror completely overtook her face. She pushed as far back against the wall as she could, desperately trying to get away from whatever was on her. "Natsu, what's up with her?" Gray asked cautiously, sinking down to a crouch beside the distraught Natsu.

"I- I don't...know." Natsu stuttered, his voice growing frail and cold.

"Lucy, calm down!" Happy tried, fright shaking his words.

"It won't work." Erza interjected. "It seems she's trapped in a half-dream-like state. I think she's hallucinating."

"That's more like a nightmare, if you ask me." A voice echoed behind them. Everyone whirled on their heels, staring into the black abyss besides the open, metal gate. A shady figure hid just out of reach of the light.

"Who are you?" Gray snapped, his hands rubbing anxiously against each other.

"Don't recognize me, boy?" The voice whispered teasingly. A gasp escaped Gray's lips in surprise. It quickly twisted into a threatening growl as he began to realize.

"Silver." Gray hissed. The figure moved forward, stepping slowly out of the shadows. Long, black legs stretched up to a tight white shirt over a broad, muscled chest. Long, grey hair spilled down loosely around his sharp features. Pale skin and dark ashen eyes like muddy snow.

"So you do remember. I'm glad." His cold eyes moved carefully over each of them. As they moved over Natsu, they seemed to hesitate for just a second longer. Then they seemed to skip straight to Lucy. Then back, and forth again, jumping between the pair. When he stopped, a small smile began to creep up the edges of his lips. "I see a familiar face. Who might you be again?" His gaze directed at the dragon slayer.

"None of your goddamn business." Natsu barked, not holding back on expressing his resentment to the man.

"You shouldn't say the lord's name in vain, Dragneel." Silver purred. "You barged in on my kidnapping attempt. Gotta return the favor."

"I never gave you a favor in the first place, you-" Natsu growled. Lucy squirmed behind him, instinctively catching his whole attention. A thought registered on his face as his eyes flashed back to Silver stood in front of him. A strong, muscled arm stuck out protectively over Lucy. Onyx eyes snapped onto Issac, fastening his gaze with powerful intensity.

Erza couldn't be sure, but it look like the fox may have flinched, just a little. Issac shrugged it off. "Your girl, she's had a hell of a bad time down in these cells." His voice sounded odd, almost purposefully detached as his eyes flickered to the blonde behind him.

"We know." Happy quickly bit back. All the fur on the back of his neck stood up with anxiety.

"Not quite, exceed." Issac retorted, then quickly dropped the matter. Issac's hand moved so fast they couldn't even see it coming. One second in was stuffed casually in his pocket, then next thing they knew, he was armed. In his hand, he held a long silver hand gun. It was pointing directly at Lucy. Natsu couldn't move quick enough to respond as the hammer clicked against the back of the gun. Its silenced bang froze Natsu in his steps.

Time caught up with him and the dragon slayer was already moving to her side before he realized it himself. A red-tailed dart stuck out the side of Lucy's neck, a red- blue liquid quickly draining out of it. Natsu wasted no time in plucking it out, sending it flying across the room. It hit the far wall and shattered into a thousand pieces of glass.

"Lucy!" The group shouted, quickly surrounding her.

"Lucy?...Luce?" Natsu called. His hands placed on her cheeks, turning her to face him. Lucy's head rolled forward into his palms as her body collapsed against him. "Luce!" Natsu exclaimed.

"What did you do?" Erza roared. Black armor coated her in head to toe as she unsheathed a lethal black blade.

Lucy's body rolled off Natsu's shoulder, slipping towards the floor. The dragon slayer quickly caught her, pulling her into his arms. Light once again dispersed as Natsu moved his hands. Darkness swallowed up visibility.

Erza hissed, shooting forward through the void. To Erza, sometimes sight wasn't always necessary. The long, thin blade cut through the darkness. Its swift slim edge clashed against the skin of the silver gun. Sparks flickered and died, lighting the shiny surfaces for a split second. The quick, sharp ring of metal colliding rippled through the small cell.

"Natsu!" Gray's voice snapped from the space near the dragon slayer. "Light this."

"What?" Natsu grumbled, half-distracted with holding the unconscious mage.

"Light this!" Gray barked impatiently. Natsu shifted Lucy's weight into one arm, lifting up the other. Fire coated Natsu's fist in orange, lighting up the surroundings. Gray sunk to a crouch, holding a long baton of ice in his hand. Cloth wrapped an end which was dipped into the glove of fire around Natsu's fist. Flames leapt onto the cloth, beaming light and scaring away the shadows of the cell. Natsu caught sight of the bare bed and realized where Gray had got the cloth. He had been curious about that at the back of his mind.

The ice mage lifted it above his head, reaching the corners of the dark. Erza's blade struck out furiously at Silver, travelling so fast it became a flickering blur.

Silver only used a small silver gun to meet Erza's swing with ease, which was practically impossible. His arm seemed to disappear and reappear quick enough to deflect each swing of the reequip mage's sword. As soon as she hit, her sword had already rebounded, ready for another shot.

"You're mistaken, Titania." Silver's voice grumbled impatiently.

"You just attacked Lucy!" Erza retorted, throwing her blade his way.

"That is exactly where you are mistaken!" Silver growled in the an irritated tone, fending off Erza's attack. He made no attempt to fight back, just simply tolerating what she threw at him.

Natsu held the limp Lucy pressed gently against his ridged shoulder, stiff with fear and rage. Slow deep breaths brushed the bare skin of his shoulder. Her heart beat was steady against his chest.

Natsu really wished, deep down, that he could go and beat the hell out of the guy. That fiend shot Lucy with some crazed-up juice. They didn't even know what it was, never mind what it was going to do to was the only reason he didn't move, because he couldn't find the strength or the courage to leave her.

A soft grumble broke Natsu from his stiff fluctuation of emotion and thoughts. Night eyes whirled next to him, meeting a soft pair of chocolate pools fluttering open. The blonde mage stirred as she raised her chin up to see the dragon slayer. Her gaze looked directly at him. But it was weird. She was there, next to him, but Natsu couldn't shake the feeling that she was somewhat separated from him, behind a glass wall that he could never break. "Luce?" Natsu muttered.

Gray and Happy drew themselves away from the fight, turning to see the awakened Lucy. Relief swept across their faces, scaring away the anxiety that had pulsed through their veins. "Lucy, you're okay!" Happy wailed, crashing into her chest. Natsu's arm, still wrapped protectively around her shoulder, managed to take the force of Happy's abrupt attack on Lucy.

"Whoa, Haps. Careful." Natsu cut into the cat's sobbing. His voice was gentle and cautious, in the caring way. However, something in his tone indicated he was weary and uncertain. Onyx eyes never left Lucy's gaze like they were trying to see something that floated just beneath her surface. Happy slowly pulled away, looking tentatively at Lucy, sensing Natsu's feelings. Brown eyes scattered over his blue face, looking at him with an unsettling transparency. At the same time, she looked at him with big trusting eyes like a baby would to their own mother. It was definitely strange.

"Hey, what's up with Lucy?" Gray asked unnervingly. The ice mage crouched down beside the dragon slayer, giving his own unsettled assessment of the blonde with sharp, dark eyes.

"I dunno." Natsu replied. The words began to tumble out of his mouth, his eyes scanning her frantically. "She- I mean, she's awake and breathing. But- she looks..."

"Dazed." Happy filled in. It was rare for Natsu to panic. When he did, his voice seemed to heighten just a little. It would really only be noticeable with Happy's sensitive cat hearing. It was easy for the feline to tell Natsu's emotions.

"Lucy?" Gray spoke in a gentle, soothing voice. He waved a large hand in front of her face.

Lucy turned to look at him with calm, fixed eyes. Normally, people who looked at him that way always sent a shiver down his spine. That was because he could always see them judging and thinking about him with echoing transparency.

Looking at Lucy as she was then, he had the strangest sense of calm ease inside him. Lucy always had a little bit of that look in her eyes every now and then, it nearly always gave him the creeps when she did it. Those times it was on purpose. But in the present, there was an undeniable innocence with the way she looked. There was no judgment, prejudice or anything hidden behind her chocolate brown orbs.

"It's like she's not thinking." Gray muttered aloud accidentally.

"I should give you more credit, boy." Silver seemed genuinely surprised behind him. Gray hadn't realized the absence of metal crashing against each other until just then. Erza moved closer, raising a sharp black sword in Silver's direction. Her eyes watched him with caution, but her body gravitated towards Lucy. Erza's clear eyes scanned her thoroughly. Lucy didn't seem too bothered by it, her attention was still locked onto Gray's face.

"What do you mean?" Gray hissed, tasting the bitterness in his mouth that laced every word he threw at the fox-like man. He really didn't like him.

"You're right; She isn't thinking." Silver explained. It seemed like he gave little concern for the blade grazing his neck.

"What did you-" Gray's face burst with anger.

"It's not permanent." Issac promptly cut him off. "It'll wear off in about ten minutes or so." Frosted grey eyes looked at Lucy tiresomely. His quick response wasn't feeling as threatened as it did tired. Silver seemed to be bending his patience just talking to them. For simple reasons, Gray really felt like pushing it. Probably not a wide choice. Gray untangled the desire to punch Silver square in the face, and turned to Natsu.

Lucy's calm body sat propped up, her eyes curiously assessing her folded legs beneath her. Somehow, she lifted herself up, regained her footing and stood. At first she swayed a little, but managed to keep her balance. Big brown eyes met them at face-level, watching with simplicity, her expression soft. One look, and it was easy to read the kind of relationship she had with you. It was so strange. The usual dominance of her emotions, or the guard that was always up, wasn't there. wore some kind of physiological armor. Didn't everyone? Then again, hers had always been thicker than most. It had thinned considerably since she had been at Fairy Tail. Still, her trust was shielded and at the same time, generous. Natsu always liked that about her. Looking at her unprotected, open, vulnerable self, Natsu couldn't help but soften. It was hard not to see the smallness of a child inside her. The expression lifted a foggy memory up into his thoughts. The same gaze rested in her eyes on the night Jaedou has attempted to kidnap her.

It had obviously failed back then, but Lucy's mind had seemed like a shallow pond. It was easily seen if he looked past the pain, lostness and fear that-

Natsu quickly squeezed his eyes shut. The rest didn't need to be repeated, it was enough just to recognise the link.

The affects of the potion was already beginning to slowly fade on her face. Small quizzical and curious phases flinted in her eyes. The thoughtfulness that always seemed to glow in her honey eyes was returning. She was always thinking about something. Maybe that was why she looked somewhat alienated and foreign to him before.

Blackness swarmed on the outside of their little ball of light. Her surroundings fell out of focus. Faces hovered around her. Lucy looked from one to the other. Feelings bubbled to the surface of her heart, as she gave each one a lingering stare. Many times, she tried to think of their names, but couldn't quite grasp them. It was like trying to pick up something slimy that always seemed to slip through her fingers. Out of all the faces, one caught her eyes. Her heart squeezed, raditating pulsating warmth down her bones. It was like a little fire in her heart. A flame lit in her mind, burning steady and constant. Fire burns but her flame was different, it didn't burn things, it protected them. It protected her. That kind of sensation bubbled like eletricity, shocking every cell in her body to life. "Natsu," She murmered, feeling the words slide of her tongue fluently, and ordinary. At the same time, a hot, painful and consticting feeling squeezed her stomach, making a subconscious sadness echo.

Why was she sad?

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**Next Monday; Chapter 11; Caged Part 2  
Lucy fights the effects of her potion, while Silver's motives are revealed.**

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow! **

**-A-ccentric**


	11. Caged Part 2

**Looking on at the Fairy Tail story plot, I realised they made a character called Silver. -.- The coincidences~ Anyway, I just thought I'd point out that the Silver in this story was what I made up myself. Seriously though, what are the chances of that happening! -.-  
Also, you guys looking forward to April 5th for the new season of FAIRY TAIL! WOO! Really can't wait /**

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Shadows   
Chapter 11: Caged Part 2

"Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, a wave of relief fluttered through him. "I think it's wearing off!"

Happy inched closer, big eyes staring at Lucy's face with timid curiosity. Happy doubted it was wearing off as quick as Natsu thought. Saying his name had become a second nature to Lucy. Once or twice he'd heard her mumble it in her sleep. Happy acknowledged that Natsu _might_ be right. Recognition was slowly creeping up on her face. A little pink blush peaked on her cheeks as she began to slowly realize the embarrassment and self-consciousness of being looked at by everyone so close up.

"What did you give her?" Erza turned back on Issac, her voice as ice cold and sharp as frozen needles. The black, steady blade still hovered millimeters from Issac's throat. It may have just been Gray, but he was sure the sword was a little closer than before.

"Passion Flower -It's normally used on anxiety patients. It's a natural herb that neutralizes conscious thought." Issac stated bluntly with a matter-of-factually tone, as if everyone should know. Apparently, only the equip mage did.

"Passion Flower? That's highly addictive and the side effects are unknown." Erza exclaimed, letting her blade kiss the skin on his neck. A small bead of red blood dripped softly down his neck, careening into the dip of his collar bone. Silver seemed to barely notice. His eyes watched Lucy with a mild curiosity, fractionally aware of the fact he was still in a conversation with Erza.

"The only side-effect is a mild case of heightened emotions that last only up to two minutes." Issac's eyes slid over the red-haired mage. It's the first time since the prison visit that he'd shown any open hostility towards Erza.

"Wait." Gray's voice jumped up high in alert, finally noticing the super-obvious. "You're suppose to be in prison; A top security black-marked prison!" Gray exclaimed, his disbelief inching higher.

"Look at that," Silver sarcastically retorted, his jaw dropping with mock. "You do have a brain after all. And a pair of eyes to boot!" Gray shot him a narrowing stare, which Issac just shrugged off. "I broke out." He said with incredulous normality. "I thought you would have been informed."

"We was- I know- I mean-" Gray gave a heavy, disgruntled sigh. "I mean how?"

"Well that wasn't much of a question." Silver picked, obviously amused. "You-"

"How the hell did you break out of the highest security prison in Fiore?" Erza barked. Gray was beginning to get the feeling she liked Silver less than Gray did- quite the feat, looking at how much Gray disliked the irritating fox.

"I walked out." Issac replied once again with the same plaintive tone.

"You can't have just-" Erza began to retort.

"Oh, but I did." Issac purred. His stare stopped sharply on Erza. A horrible, disturbing smirk twisted on his lips. "Does that scare you, Titania?" The heavy atmosphere fell down on Gray like stone. It was a daunting thought considering if his legs would or wouldn't break under it's alarming mass.

A sharp squeal of fright and shock broke the silence. Everyone's eyes, even Silver's whirled round in surprise.

Lucy's body pinned itself back against the damp, wet wall. Pale red arms covered in scratches, blundered desperately up against the brick. Her feet pushed furiously against the floor, attempting to dig her heels in as hard as she could. She was trying her hardest to make as much distance as she could. Color drained from her face, leaving her skin a chalky-white. Big brown orbs were completely overtaken with fear. Lucy was so utterly frightened.

Gray's eyes jumped, following her frozen gaze. Unsurprisingly, it lead back to Silver. Gray stared with mild disbelief at his reaction. Shock peaked on Silver's face as he stared back at the girl with stiff dismay, his lips hardening into a straight line. Gray might have been mistaken, but those steeled eyes, looked just a little bit hurt. Emotion quickly retracted from his face into something cold and hard.

While Gray processed the situation, leaving behind Silver's unfathomable reaction, he realized Natsu was one step ahead of him. Two arms expanded to his sides, legs spread evenly apart, he placed his body directly between Lucy and Issac.

Warm brown eyes were filled with so much fear, it was almost impossible. Or so Natsu's heart told him. It was hard to ever imagine how Lucy had ended up ever feeling so scared. More than anything, it hurt. It hurt so bad that Natsu wasn't able to protect her from the past that frightened her so much. Raw tender pain seared through his body, echoing from somewhere deep inside him.

Natsu wasn't a god, he couldn't protect her from the past. But he could protect her now. Even if it was just a little, he could keep her safe. If that meant fighting a black-marked criminal who walked out of a top-security prison, he would do so until death.

Eventually, Gray, Happy and Erza blundered into the situation. They took up arms and quickly formed a barricade around the frozen blonde. Lucy was curled up in a whimpering ball, breathing short calming breaths. Happy moved by her side and tried to comfort her. Natsu could tell the affects of the syrum were still in effect in her system. When she was scared, no matter how much, Lucy would put on a mask and face her fear. That was one of the things that made her strong. But, at the same time, it hurt her inside. That was a painful admiration he felt.

Passion Flower's effects on her made her bare her emotions openly, and bit by bit she was trying to put her mask back together. Tears had already stopped falling from her ringed eyes. With Lucy this vulnerable, it gave Natsu a chance to show how he would protect her from harm. This time, Natsu could be her strength.

While Natsu hovered protectively close, Erza was already in full assault. Her striking blade pierced the air, grazing Issac's red smudge neck. Lucy's squeal had caught Erza by surprise, making her lower her blade. It had given Silver the opportunity to side-step it by at least a foot. Smooth agile movements took his body in a swift flow. Dodging her high speed flying black weapon seemed easy enough to him. Even so, his attention towards her was lacking on his face. It wasn't like he needed any at all. Erza had failed to land a blow on him earlier and once again, she wasn't able to. Her blade at his throat made him seem unfazed. At first, she thought he was persuasively trying to look impassive. She realized, he had no fear, tension or worry aimed at her at all. That much she should have expected. You don't get to be a black-marked criminal for nothing. Jellal had been close but Silver was on a whole new level.

Instead, his glaciated silver eyes were attentive on someone behind her. Erza didn't need more than one guess; she knew she was right. Lucy.

Erza, of all people, wasn't getting anywhere. Not even a flinch. Silver's body was like paper, gliding around the air of the slicing force of her sword with unreal weightless agility. Jumping in and out of different armors, swinging weapons and fists, all to be dodged. It was impossible. How strong was he? Gray didn't like what he didn't know. However, that wouldn't stop him from fighting. Maybe it needed both him and Erza to get a hit on the guy.

The ice torch slid between a chain link of the prison bed. Gray's fist pounded against his palm, drawing magic from inside. "Ice make:-" Gray roared, jumping into battle.

"Happy?" Lucy whimpered. Blonde hair plastered to the side of her face with cold sweat. Brown eyes looked up to the cat with bone-deep tiredness. Pale skin and blue lips were damp with tears. Lucy had stopped crying, wiping the tears away on the back of her hand. She had screamed, curled into a ball in fear, and cried, burning through the aftermath of the Passion Flower injection. Calming exhaustion settled in as she untangled her ball of limbs.

"Lucy are you okay?" Happy asked hesitantly. She looked up at him with a gentle smile that she knew looked fractured. She gave up and lifted a hand. Aching fingers ruffled the blue fur on top of his anxious face. Black, large eyes beaded with tears of relief. "I'm alright." She whispered back in a hoarse weak voice. A whirling ball of blue thudded against her chest, almost knocking her over. Her heart still pounded like a jackhammer inside her chest. She absently wondered if Happy could feel it.

At that moment, she saw a familiar back looming up ahead of her. Muscles ripple and twinged under his silk vest. White, scaled fabric fluttered in the draft that echoed in the cold. Shoulders flinched and jumped. Feet shuffled anxiously on the floor. Hands clasped and unclasped tensely -a rare nervous gesture of his when he was holding himself back from a fight, which was unusual for Natsu; Hence she knew he stood unmistakably in front of her. It felt good to hear his name echo in her thoughts again. It was weird not being able to when it was so frequently there. That, she realized, had only come to her a few moments ago._ You don't notice what you have until you lose it,_ she thought. That saying, in some stripped-down-to-the-bone principle, kind of applied in the present situation. Still, she didn't find it all that relevant at the moment in time- Just an odd thought.

Ringing of metal managed to shake and splinter her thoughts. Lucy pushed onto the wall for support, lifting herself off the ground. To her oblivious surprise, her legs caved underneath her. Strength had been completely sapped out of them. Every time she tried to lift herself, she'd fall into a weak heap on the floor, letting out a growl of frustration.

"Natsu." She called. Even her voice sounded weak and faint. Not that it needed to be that loud anyway. She could have breathed his name, and he still would have heard it.

Dragon slayer's had good ears; Sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse, depending on her mood and situation. During the moment at hand, she was glad of it.

Natsu's body whirled towards her lightening quick. Onyx eyes took in everything about her in a second. Muscles in his shoulders went rigid as he met her gaze. Lucy watched him with a strange paralysis of shock. Natsu looked so...determined. Earlier, his soft gaze had traced the lines of her face. Looking at him like that made her feel so warm, so peaceful and calm. Even without thought, she knew he was safe. She also realized that she trusted him with her entire heart. But what was that trouble look? It seemed to have torn straight into her chest. Undeniable pain radiating like an ice wave down her spine. Why, hidden in those dark, gentle eyes, was there so much sadness?

Cold sorrow dissipated like melting snow. After a quick glance over his shoulder, he crouched down to her height, looking her directly in the eye. "Yo, Luce!" Natsu lifted a hand in greeting, giving his signature grin. That smile alone was magical, making all her worries seem trivial. A little stowaway butterfly fluttered in her stomach, causing her heart to squeeze a little bit. "You feelin' better?" A pink eyebrow arched up in a curve. He looked like a curious puppy, Lucy thought amusingly. A small giggle chuckled at the bottom of her chest. Lucy gave a weak smile, in reply. "Yeah, better." She whispered gently. Something heavy still pushed a crushing, panicked weight on her chest. Suppressing it was difficult, but she could manage. That blinding fear had completely overwhelmed her, so much so she couldn't think, just react. Issac Silver's face had become the medium of a nightmare for her after the first recurrence of her past in her dreams so many nights ago. Being frightened, making everyone protect her, even when it was her who dragged them here, was being selfish.

The injection was the same as that night in the landlady's kitchen, where she thought she saw the shackles clasped around her wrists. She had convinced herself she was here again; alone, in the room. She was scarred little Lucy Heartfilia again. Those shiny black stones that crawled out of the darkness, knowing pain would follow them. A pressure had crushed her mind on the inside, like trying to squeeze a boulder into her small skull. She didn't even feel the injection, she was so cut off. All her vision, the shackles, shoes and pain all melted away like running water. Then, she saw the faces. Her mind couldn't grasp thought. But seeing the dragon slayer's face was her sanctum. He was there again, to hold her steady.

"Help me up?" She asked, after realizing she wasn't going to lift her exhausted lump of flesh and bone off the ground alone. Hesitation crossed Natsu's face, but it sunk away into a partial sulk. Obviously, Natsu didn't think she should get up. Even so, he decided not to say anything. One arm swung over his shoulder and his went around her waist. Happy held her free hand for balance as she rose, leaning most of her weight onto the dragon slayer.

Erza and Gray were darting back and forth, launching attack at the silver-haired man. Lucy hadn't realized she flinched at the sight of him, but by Natsu's expression, it was obvious. It seemed like her two other mage friends, had failed to land a single hit. The steel hand gun in Silver's large palm was engraved with sword slash marks and ice chips, but he was otherwise unmarked. Issac didn't bother to lift a finger against them. All he did was dodge and break their advances. Strangely, Lucy hadn't expected them to be able to win against him, even though she had undying faith in both her friend's strengths, especially Erza's. Deep down, that was a sickening thought. There was also that feeling that contradicted that; One that was never really sure just how much her team mates were capable of.

"Silver." Lucy called, expecting them to stop. She forgot her voice had faded into a pitch just a little louder than a whisper. Natsu gave her a short glance with an uneasy and sympathetic smile.

"Silver." Natsu snapped. He didn't shout but his voice was firm. It resounded off the small walls of the cave, bringing everyone to an immediate, obedient stop.

Erza and Grays eyes registered Lucy first with surprise and underlying concern. She appreciated that they didn't say anything. Issac's eyes rolled over to her with a lazy glare. Somehow, Lucy suspected seeing her stood up wasn't much of a surprise. Issac's attention hadn't been completely focused on Erza and Gray. Part of it, had been on her. He ignored Natsu completely, staring directly at her. It was a little uncomfortable being under such a heavy stare. Lucy assumed he meant it that way. It could be worst if she pushed it so she decided against doing so.

"You're not here for no reason, right? Why did you come find us?" Lucy was surprised her voice was getting louder. Maybe it was just because of the silence. A smile twitched on Silver's lips and his gaze softened a fraction. The dirty grey eyes moved away, examining the wall in front of him with lacking interest.

"Nothing gets past you, Lucy Heartfilia." Silver admitted. Quick exchanged looks of surprise passed around the rest of Lucy's team's faces. As if they hadn't really thought about it until Lucy mentioned it. It seemed very plausible.

"You came here looking for us?" Gray repeated stupendously.

"Well done, boy, you an mimic words like a parrot." Issac grumbled with extra-sarcasm which wasn't necessary. After a second of considerations, he corrected his tone and added genuine seriousness "I'm quite impressed."

"Hey-!" Gray snapped back, opening his mouth to say something more. Lucy quickly intervened.

"What do you want, Silver?" Lucy said sharply. Natsu was impressed at how stern her voice was. Impatience was brimming, summoning her authoritative tone. Silver looked at her with slight surprise. For a long second, he regarded her with faint caution. It settled into a sad kind of relief. An old relief, Natsu recognized.

Finally, he replied. "I came to find you to offer my help."

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** Next Monday; Chapter 12; Questions  
The truth about Silver's shocking offer revealed!**

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	12. Questions

Shadows  
Chapter 12; Questions

"I came to find you to offer my help." For the first time, Gray assumed, it seemed to cross his face how embarassing it was to say.

Everyone was stunned, staring dumbfound at Iac who looked only the slightest bit uncomfortable. On the other hand, Lucy hadn't even batted an eyelid in reaction to his uncharactisitc offer. Lucy's face began to show the faint signs of consideration.

Colour was slowly returning to her face thanfully. Pale legs seemed able to hold her weight more or less. Even Natsu was looked a little more relieved. Dark eyes flickered ack and forth between her and Silver. It was a nervous guesture Gray had noticed about Natsu recently. If he was nervous, his eyes seemed to jump to from the problem to Lucy, as if she was the solution to everything. To Natsu, maybe she was.

"Your help?" Lucy finally spoke with a suspicious tone. "Why?"

"Why not?" Issac shrugged, avoiding her direct gaze. From time to time, it would flicker to her and jump away. Strangely, Gray noticed, he looked like a child being scolded by his mother -More like a disobediant teenager than a child.

"Maybe I should change the way I asked that." Lucy said. She contemplated it for a second, before she replied with a much more suitable question. "What's in it for you?"

"For me?" Silver countered, a little surprised. It was like he hadn't even considered helping for his own gain. Of course, Gray reminded himself, it was a proposterous to ever think that towards a Black-marked criminal. "Why would there be something for me?" Expression changed on his face. His slightly suprised, open expression was covered by a hard but leinant mask.

"There's always somehting for you, Silver Fox." Lucy stated matter-of-factly. Lucy's arm unwound from Natsu's neck. Objection was written clearly on the dragon slayer's face, watching her stand alone in dismay. At first, the ice mage thought she was going to ignore him. In the end, Lucy reached out a hand which steadied on his quickly produced arm. From the loks of it, Lucy could stand perfectly well on her own. Still, Gray couldn't be completely sure. That aided hand could have been for assistance or to calm Natsu. Most of the dragon slayer seemed satisfied just standing next to her. Since when had Natsu been so submissive.

"Jeadou's absence would benefit me, quite obviously." Silver admitted. "If you guys can get rid of him, with the tiny chance you have, it would certainly relieve me." Brown orbs stared hard at the man with cold but thoughtful regard. Finally, she let out a tired sigh.

"I see." Lucy whispered softly. "So that's what it was." The eyes turned back to their normal softness as they moved over to Natsu. A strange conversation between their eyes passed between them. It was a language no one but themselved would ever understand.

It didn't seem to be going Natsu's way. Objection, anger and dismay made a unique expression on his face.

After another minutes, Natsu sighed and Lucy turned. Lucy stood on her own two feet- without Natsu's help, Gray noticed. "Your help." Lucy;s voice rang crystal clear under the concaving walls of the cell. "What is it?"

"I know the ins and out of this entire building. That is assistance you need, is it not?" Silver replied, raising a thick, gray eyebrow.

"What makes you think we can't find our way to him ourselves?" Lucy countered instantly.

Gray could tell, just by looking at her face, that she really didn't want his help. He could also see that she was probably going to accept it anyway, dispite her feelings. Lucy had a way of thinking rationally, unlike the hot-head that would only trust his heart. That was a good thing about him, not wise, but still nice, Gray admitted reluctantly. Right on que, Natsu had to jump in.

"NO WAY!" NAtsu barked. Raven eyes set on the eldered wizard like daggers. Gray wondered what was holding him back from punching him. But, of course, that was Lucy.

The pale hand resting back on his arm clamped down hard. It broke his stare, letting the dark eyes hope back to the stellar mage, full of protest. Brown orbs stared dead ahead, ignoring the dragon slayer's outburst like it never happened.

"There's no reason to think you arn't capable of finding your way." Issac continued. He was probably planning on ignoring Natsu anyway. "Except the odds are stacked against you."

Raven eyes burned with rage and sinking despair. He wasn't the only one who noticed what the celestial mage was thinking. For now, he was repressing his feelings, eager to jump in. There was also the fact that he didn't want Lucy to get mad at him. Gray couldn't be sure she wouldn't. Part of her attention was on him, keeping him back. Then again, Lucy's hand had softened. She was understanding of his feelings, her own were the same most likely. Especially against such a renouned enemy like 'Jaedou'.

"What odds?" Lucy asked, still stood i a refined manner, posed with a silver tongue on guard. If Gray was to imagine Lucy as a 'lady', this would be the image he thought of.

"This path and the path leading to him." Silver spoke. Gray assumed he felt just as uncomfortable saying Jaedou's name as Lucy did. "...is one of many. This whole place was made a labyrnth -by design."

"Even so," Gray countered, making his first appearance in the midst of the conversation. "We could keep trying again until we find it." It wasn't a very logical suggestion, but Gray had an itching feeling about Silver. He wasn't positive it was bad, but he wasn't certain it was good either. He would rather ork without him, than take a risk in trusting him.

"Unfortuantely, we can't do that." Erza stepped off the side line. "If it was made by design, I suppose there are areas in this rat maze that a 'designed' to deal with intruders." Gray hadn't thought about that.  
Erza was right; the guy ws a criminal mastemind, of cource he would habe way of dealing with people looking for him. It was probably the reason he and his captives, had never been found.

"I'll accept." Lucy declared abruptly. In te moments Gray had been pondering, Lucy must have been too.

Natsu gave a surprised gasp, opening his mouth to protest. Lucy opened her mouth to stnad him down, but this time, Natsu jumped in before she could bother. Gray had a feeling he wouldn't have expected it, even if she told him to at that moment. He would have to take back his earlier comment about Natsu being 'submissive'.

"NO, Lucy!" Natsu barked. Hut, confusion and despair all mixed on his face. It only increased more when Lucy's remaind the same calm, confident and collected as it was. Comapred to her clear thinking, Natsu seemed like a young child having a temper tantrum. Natsu noticed it too. "Luce, don't look at me like that," his voice turned small and pleading as he pulled in his boiling anger. A small barely, noticable crack chipped her stoney mask. Once again, Natsu was abel to read her like an open book. He knew he that well.

He also knew how stubborn she was. Lucy was trying to do the best thing, the most logical one. In doing that, she always ignored her own feelings. So, even if the chance was slim, he would try his best to show her, her own feelings. When she listens to them, maybe she'll change her mind. If not, Natsu wouldn't argue anymore.

"Natsu, I understand how you feel it's just-" Lucy tried to persuade him, stepping forward. A pale hand reached out to touch him, but he steped out of her reach. Surely, she would touch him, like she always did, and she would make him see sense. But he didn't want to see sense. He wanted to see her true feelings. As she pulled back her neglected hand, small prickles of hurt flitted across her face.

"Lucy, if you truly understood what I was saying you wouldn't be listeneing to me. You'd be listening to yourself." A small hand guestured to his chest where his head laid. Brown eyes were emersed in his gaze, and for a moment, they flickered to his chest.

Althought Natsu said those words that sounded so wise, she doubted he actually knew what he was saying. Still, Natsu always had that inbuilt conciousness that made him say the right thing. Only this once, could she ever find the courage to ignore it.

"Natsu," Lucy muttered softly. The distance between them closed as she took a small step forward. This time, she didn't reach out, she stayed small and compact.

Brown chocolate eyes stared blankly at his chest. A vail of blonde hair shadowed the front of her face, masking her embrace.

"Do you know how many people have died on Jaedou's hands?" It was a rhetorical question, and the constricting feling around her heart was teling he knew what was coming next. "Too many, Natsu. Too many." It was the loudest Lucy had every spoken to him since the drug wore off. "Even my friend died. She was somone's daughter. She could have been a mother. She could have gone travelling like she always dreamed. But, she can't. Because she's dead." A long strained silence wrapped around the room. It's density crushed the dragon slayer's heat, threatening to make it pop. Natsu wanted to speak, to convince her again, but his words were knotted in the back of his throat.

"That's why this time..." She continued, her eyes staring flatly at his broad chest. "My feelings don't matter. I will trust Silver just this once. Not for me, but for everyone. For Lilianne." The glisten of a single tear trickled down over her shadowed face, rolling off her chin.

A large warm hand caught her cheek, brushing it away with gentle strength.

Maron pools brimming with tears darted upwards. Dark eyes met hers with an overwhelming wave of sadness and reluctancy. Hidden underneath all that, was a tiny bit of relief. A small, weak smile pulled his lips as he looked down at her. "Dammit." Natsu sighed reluctantly. He'd lost.

Onyx eyes examined the hand still holding her pale cheek, cold to the touch. So this time, it was him who touched her. Lucy's magic had captured his heart again.

The hand dropped loose and he turned to three face staring at the same expression of his own. Surprisngly, there was also a fourth.

Long, greying hair draped down over his face like frosted vines, creating a wall of hair between the two.

"Great, let's go." Silver coughed bitterly, marching on through the gate.

"Wait." Natsu coldly added, making Silver turn on his heals. Silver hadn't seen it coming. Two hands grabbed a fistful of Issac's shirt tearing his from his balance. They pushed him hard against the bars, letting a threatening ring echo through the halls. Natsu's face glowed lean and sharp, staring at Silver with deadly cold eyes. Everything about the dragon slayer screaming threatening as his hands twisted tighter near Silver's neck. "You dare, harm Lucy or anyone...and I will make sure I'm the one who makes you feel the consequences." Natsu's dark eyes stared hard into Issac, who seemed paralysed with shock against the bars. Until finally, Natsu let go, moving besides Lucy.

Silver's eyes narrowed on the dragon slayer with deadily sharpness. Waving off Natsu like he wasn't anything was one of the mistakes the silver fox had made towards that boy. He'd be careful not to do it again. Silver quickly shook it off like it was nothing, moving silently through the open iron gate.

Everyone else gave Natsu a quick glance. They all hadn't been expecting that. But Natsu seemed a little more content than he had before. And strangely, Lucy was looking, even a little bit, impressed.

Cold stares followed Issac out the gate before Erza made a move to follow. She gave a small curt nod to Lucy, which she interpreed as an acknowledgement of somekind. Gray traced Erza's footsteps. Happy lingered until Natsu and Lucy walked on.

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**Next Monday; Chapter 13: Doorway to Darkness  
Lucy makes her way to her final stand as Silver explains his offer. Meanwhile, the left behind guild members might not be as safe as they seem.**

* * *

**If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


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